According to the U.S. Department of Labor, thousands of employees
suffer from eye injuries every year, many of these injuries sustained at
work, usually from inadequate eye protection. These injuries can result
in blindness and cost over $300 million per year in lost production
time,Clean Room Factory medical expenses and worker compensation.

Potential
eye hazards can be found in almost every industry. What causes eye
injuries? According to the US Department of Labor, 70% of the total eye
injuries are caused by falling objects or sparks striking the eye. 3/5
of these objects being smaller than a pin head but were traveling faster
than a hand thrown object. 20% of the eye injuries resulted from
contact with chemicals.

To prevent eye injuries, you should always
wear effective eye protection. There are three types of eye protection:
safety glasses, goggles or a face shield. Safety glasses are the most
common. They are designed with side protection and can resist an impact
up to 150 feet per second. Safety goggles form a seal around the eyes
giving better protection and can come in impact resistant and chemical
resistant. Chemical goggles protect the wearer from chemical splashes
with hooded or indirect ventilation. Impact goggles have direct
ventilation holes and protect against direct impact or large particles.
Finally there are face shields which are used in welding and sanding
applications. Face shields are a secondary form of protection and must
be worn with either safety glasses or goggles. Which type of eye
protection is chosen based on the nature and degree of potential hazard
the workplace factors and any OSHA and ANSI requirements.

There
are three main types of lenses found in eye safety wear. Glass lenses
are not easily scratched and can be used around harsh chemicals. They
can also be made into a corrective prescription for those who need it.
However, they can also be heavy and uncomfortable to wear. Plastic
lenses are lighter weight, are good for protecting against welding
splatter and are not likely to fog up on your face. However, they are
more likely to scratch when compared to glass. Polycarbonate lenses are
light weight, protect against welding splatter and are not likely to fog
up like the plastic lenses. However they are the strongest lens and
have a greater impact resistance then glass and plastic alone.

Protective
eye wear goes through a series of tests to verify that it meets the
requirements that have been put into place. This includes testing the
frames and the lens for durability like flame or chemical resistance,
high impact, high mass impact and high velocity impact. High impact will
be marked with Z87+. If they are not rated for high impact they will
just Z87. Other markings include a V, which indicates photochromic
lenses and S which means the lenses have a special tint usually meant
for welding or soldering.

Preventing eye injuries through use of safety glasses, goggles and face shields saves money by Clean Room Manufacturer
avoiding injury costs, lost productivity, insurance costs, lawsuits and
possible fines. For the worker it avoids catastrophic injury like
blindness, pain, lost wages and medical bills. 50% of workers injure
while wearing eye protection thought the eye wear had minimized the
damage.