Safety Glasses
Protective Eyewear
Do you consider eye protection glasses to be a necessary part of your professional PPE? According to Prevent Blindness America, over 700,000 Americans get eye injuries at their workplace each year, with another 125,000 getting them at their residences. Their studies also reveal that over 40,000 kids and adults in the United States experience eye injuries because of sports, and several thousand more injuries remain undocumented.
Eye protection glasses can eliminate approximately 90 percent of all eye injuries. However, it is important to get the protective eyewear and shields that best suit you.
What is PPE Eyewear
These are protective glasses fitted with polycarbonate lenses and thermal-treated lenses or made of plastic, rather than glass, to prevent glass shards from penetrating when they fracture. They shield the user's eyes against powerful strikes or other injuries, and you can wear sunglasses alongside other PPE like aprons, gloves, and masks, among others.
Polycarbonate is the most common lens component used to make protective glasses, since it is lighter than glass, and thus more convenient.
What are the most common types of Eye Protection Glasses?
Know what forms of eye protection equipment to wear in different situations to protect your eyes from work hazards and other potential threats. For the best protection, make sure you're wearing the correct one.
Safety eyewear is worn for general protection against flying objects or debris. Some of these lenses also provide protection from damaging blue light, UV rays, and other types of radiation. The following are some examples of popular safety spectacles:
- Warden Safety Glasses
- Photochromic Safety Glasses
- Medical Safety Glasses
- Forensic Glasses
Safety goggles are a type of personal protective equipment that can be worn by anyone, particularly by individuals who require eye protection at work. These safety glasses come in a variety of lens materials, including clear, polarized lenses, tinted, scratch resistant coating, and anti fog coating.
A face shield is a type of eye protective gear that covers not only your eyes but also your full face. Flying items, debris, chemical splashes, and contagious materials are all threats that this safety eye and face protection protects the wearer from. Some face shields include spectacles and goggles, which aid in the protection of the wearer's eyes even further.
If you work in an environment that may pose a threat to your eye health, it is highly recommended to invest in an ideal safety eyewear set today!
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards and eye protection glasses
The ANSI Z87.1 eye guideline sets standards for using, certifying, and labeling safety glasses. It also includes instructions for selecting and preserving glasses to avoid or limit damages from eye threats. Both Z87.1-2010 and Z87.1-2015 requirements also match with several other jurisdictions' facial and eye protection requirements. This means working globally and understanding eye protection standards gets much simpler.
According to ANSI Z87.1, eye protection must have marks that refer to the product's capacity to deter specific risks. For instance, eye protection glasses that comply with Z87.1 have a "Z87" label. The other three extra markings are:
- Optical Radiation Protection (UV Protection)
This letter classification is immediately accompanied by a rating that denotes the capacity of the glasses' lens to guard against uv radiation.
For instance, ultraviolet (UV) and welding with filter: "U" and "W" followed by a scale from 2 to 6 and 1.3 to 14, respectively. Visible Light (Glare) and Infra-red (Heat) Filter: "L" and "R" then a scale of 1.3 to 10. Variable tint and Special purpose with filter "V" and "S" respectively.
- Splash and Dust Protection
Eyeglass makers assign a symbol starting with "D" to an eyeglass that fulfills all ANSI Z87.1 criteria for droplets (spill) or dust shielding. For instance, products designated "D3", "D5", and "D4" provide protection against drops and splashes, fine dust coverage, and dust safety.
- Impact Protection and Non-Impact
All impact-rated safety eyewear must satisfy specified high-mass and high-velocity standards, along with providing side-on protective eyewear. Furthermore, such glasses have an addition sign (+) marking.
When eye protection glasses fulfill the needs of two or more variables, they may have multiple symbols. For instance, "Z87+L8D3D4" lenses give impact-rated eye protection, brightness suppression, and dirt and mist safety.
Can prescription safety glasses consider as eye PPE?
You cannot have these glasses as safety eyewear unless you get a special version for eye safety. Prescription glasses and safety glasses serve distinct purposes and functionalities. For them to be classified as protective eyewear, they should satisfy a greater requirement of fracture toughness than conventional prescription eyewear, which most of them lack.
Often, employers provide safety glasses designed to fit above prescription glasses. This includes when you work in environments like laboratories and building sites. Such protective glasses typically have enough space for your prescription glasses to slip beneath them.
Should you wear protective eyewear for coronavirus?
Whenever a coronavirus-infected person sneezes or speaks, they may release countless viral saliva drops, which can enter your nostrils, mouth, or eyes. Through the eyes, the virus may enter via the conjunctiva, a transparent membrane surrounding your eyes and beneath your eyelids.Â
While COVID-19 seldom causes symptoms in victims' eyes, and conjunctiva fluids seldom screen positive for the virus, healthcare workers' mucous membranes (particularly their eyes) get susceptible to their patients' respiratory droplets. As a result, while examining individuals with potentially severe acute corona infection, they should wear proper eye protection.
While there are difficulties in the techniques used to verify confirmed samples, the conjunctivitis proportion associated with COVID-19 is estimated to be 0.8-4.8 percent. Conjunctiva congestion is linked to 4.0-5.5 percent of COVID-19 cases and conjunctiva discharge to 9.0-10.5 percent.
COVID-19 seldom affects the eyes, making conjunctivitis unlikely under extremely low viral loads.
Where should you get your eye protection glasses?
Buying sunglasses to protect your eye? Premier Safety offers a complete line of PPEs, including the best safety glasses that meet all standard safety requirements. We understand and acknowledge your daily safety concerns and offer a solution from some of the planet's most innovative and well-known eyewear firms. Get in touch with us right away to know more about the eyewear that is appropriate for your job.Â