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Posted By Barry Cooper
The process at our company creates extremely humid conditions, so much so that when you approach the process machinery, spectacles mist up immediately, and can stay misted for several minutes
I wear glasses, and when I enter the area, they mist up, but I just remove them until they clear. It is not that easy for operatives, as they may need their glasses to do their job.
A suggestion has been made that these operatives should not work in this environment unless they wear contact lenses.
We have tried demisting fluids, and are only partially successful. Any suggestions?
Barry
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Posted By John Richards
Contact lenses ?
In seriously polluted conditions ?
What happened to "adequate ventilation"
Has anyone there studied the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 with their ACOP ?
I should think that RPE is also required.
Just a hint, if anyone gets any detritus under their contact lenses they will be in a lot of pain.
It is 2008 isn't it ?
Sometimes I think we stopped at 1958.
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Posted By MT
Have you looked into engineering controls such as enclosures to prevent the steam/condensation or whatever from entering the atmosphere inside the work area? The hierarchy of controls should always be considered before PPE.
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Posted By Tabs
Big sucky things ...
Or Local Exhaust Ventilation as the text books would say :-)
They have them in kitchens, you can have them in your machine shop.
It's not just the spectacles you know ... the steam will carry any contaminants deep into the lungs, so unless it is a completely inert production operation, you are likely to be looking at other long-term issues anyway.
I don't know if steam itself gives any problems long term, but I don't think so.
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Posted By Merv Newman
I used to work in paper mills and found that this "misting" problem could occur when going from cool to warm/damp areas (of which there were many.
We solved the safety glasses problem by keeping a stock of glasses WITHIN the warm/damp areas. As they were already "acclimatised" they did not mist up.
This doesn't solve the problem of those who have to wear prescription glasses all the time. You could check with an optician about permanent anti-misting coatings.
For me, contact lenses, hard (do they still exist ?) or soft, are a nono in any industrial area. They give no mechanical protection and little against particulates or vapours. In fact I have been told that they could aggravate an injury by holding the contaminant onto the eye. (comments anyone ?)
In any case, people who do wear contacts should inform their friendly local first aider. (before the accident)
Merv
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Posted By Barry Cooper
Guys
It is a paper mill, and as Merv said the problem arises from going from a cool air conditioned control room (where the guys spend 85% of their day)to the paper machine to carry out routine checks.
To manufacture paper you need a humid environment. The machine building humidity is controlled to enable the paper to be produced.
There is no "steam", it is just extremely humid with temperatures under the machine getting quite high.
If the guys have to work in the areas for any period (e.g. feeding up or felt changes) strict controls are in place to prevent heat stress.
No it isn't 1958, it is 2008 and our machine is state of the art and computer controlled and working conditions are one of the best and safest in the industry.
I am proud to say that we have achieved 353 days without a lost time accident (1 day or more). This due to improved machine safety, and zero tolerance for at risk behaviour, and a drive for continuous improvement.
Not many industries can say the same.
Barry
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Posted By Sally
Solution to this we used many years ago in a paper mill was a spray that motorcyclists use to stop their visors misting up - worked a treat.
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Posted By John J
Contact lenses, in our experience, get washed out during irrigation of the eyes in an emergency.
I'd go with the bike visor spray but take manufacturers advice. Some antifog lens coatings will lift with alchohol based cleaners.
John
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Posted By Paul Bibby
Hi Barry,
Coming from an occ hygiene background I am loathed to recommend a person-based solution. It always seems to be putting too much onus on the employee and avoids making the place safer. I tend towards solutions higher up the hierachy of controls, Full Enclosure of the Plant, LEV and the like. Unfortunately, these solutions are not always viable especially from an economic point of view. They should always be considered and reasons given in the risk assessment as to why they cannot be implemented.
In this instance I agree fully with Merv Newman.
I must say that contact lenses should not to be used in an industrial environment as they only compound the problem when foreign objects get in the eye. A spare set of spectacles, with lenses made from safety glass, in each of the Humid environments is in my view the best practical option.
After all how many of your guys wear glasses? I suspect only a small number that can easily be accommodated with this solution.
Not ideal but the best in the circumstances.
Rgds,
Paul
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