Posted By Michael Griffith Afternoon All' I wonder if anyone can help me? Could anyone tell me what the best form of eye protection is whilst using an angle grinder on steel? I personally don't think that safety glasses are adequate as there are gaps around the cheek area where particles could (and do) enter. The other options are full face visor with brow and chin guards or goggles. I think the goggles would provide the best eye protection as they provide a seal. I also think wearing a visor with brow and chin guards would still allow particles to enter. Should visors be worn in conjunction with safety glasses? Would this offer any more protection? Grinding steel is a noisy process, so any solution must be compatible with the hearing protection. Has anyone any thoughts, ideas or reference to any HSE guidelines they could offer to me on this matter? I would be extremely grateful and offer my thanks in advance to anyone who responds. Cheers, Mick

Posted By Greg Duncan Safety glasses are not to suitable for grinding applications. I think I am right in stating that they are only light eye protection and do not afford the impact resistance of the required level. I work for a mechanical engineering company whose primary task is installation of pipework systems, this involves large amounts of grinding and welding. We insist that goggles are worn as a minimum and encourage the use of a full face visor as well to protect the face from flying particles.

Posted By Michael Griffith Thanks guys for your replies, Fats, I don't think they are operating the grinders wrong as i have done the job also. The particles that could get behind the safety glasses are what bounce off the bench or wall. I do agree though that goggles should be the minimum requirement. Greg, yes you are right, most safety glasses are low energy impact, but even though the employees are aware of the dangers of only wearing safety specs they are still reluctant to wear goggles on the grounds that they mist up when they are wearing them. (the same goes for visors as well). Is there any chance you could let me know if your employees have this problem and if not could you let me know what type of goggles and visors you use. Merv, The work we do is on a similar line (we use the angle grinders to remove the dross off plasma cut stainless steel profiles). We haven't yet to date had an incident with particles falling out of their hair(most of our workforce are of the shaven head variety), but i must admit it is not something i had thought of and will bear in mind for the future. Cheers, Mick