Eyewash requirements

OSHA permits the use of a self-contained eyewash unit IF that unit can supply 15 minutes of flushing fluid, but it also must provide the required flow rate of. 4 gallons per minute. A 16 gallon self-contained unit would likely be able to provide 15 minutes of flushing at the required flow rate, but must be verified through testing. It would be compliant provided all other eyewash requirements were met. 

Access to emergency showers and eyewashes is part of the site-specific emergency response and medical first-aid programs, and is unrelated to sanitation or decontamination. Requirements for the availability and location of emergency showers and eyewashes are specified under 29 CFR 1910.151. 

While there may be places where a shower is not needed, one or more eyewash stations will almost always be required. Some laboratories, in fact, provide a small eyewash device at every sink. Combination shower and eyewash units are also available. Home-made devices are not satisfactory. A standard safety shower gives off a drenching stream of water of much higher volume than a home-type shower. An eyewash emits a large volume of water at a gentle pressure to prevent eye injury. 

It was found, when an attempt was made to conduct ship trials that the paint applier would be required to wear long sleeves, gloves, safety glasses, and a protective face shield. It is also a requirement that an eyewash fountain be nearby. These requirements were imposed because acrylates are skin, eye and respiratory tract irritants, but the problem lies mostly with the acrylated reactive diluent rather than with the acrylated resin (2,3). To avoid these problems, tests have been performed with use of trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) as a replacement for TMPTA. TMPTMA has been shown to be much less of an irritant than TMPTA, and is used in dental restorations. 

Safety requires you to think in advance about what you will do never do anything that seems dangerous. Know how to use safety equipment such as goggles, fume hood, lab coat, gloves, emergency shower, eyewash, and fire extinguisher. Chemicals should be stored and used in a manner that minimizes contact of solids, liquids, and vapors with people. Environmentally acceptable disposal procedures should be established in advance for every chemical that you use. Your lab notebook tells what you did and what you observed it should be understandable to other people. It also should allow you to repeat an experiment in the same manner in the future. You should understand the principles of operation of electronic and mechanical balances and treat them as delicate equipment. Buoyancy corrections are required in accurate work. Burets should be read in a reproducible manner and drained slowly for best results. Always interpolate between markings to obtain accuracy one deci-... 

Instruct everyone in the lab on the proper use of the safety shower and eyewash fountain (see Corrosive materials above). Most portable eyewash devices cannot maintain the required flow for 15 minutes. A permanent eyewash fountain is preferred. 

Exposure controls and personal protection required engineering controls such as eyewashes, safety showers, ventilation, etc. OSHA PEL data required personal protective equipment. 

Anyone wim a percutaneous or mucocutaneous exposure to blood, body fluids, secretions, or excretions from a suspected VHP patient should immediately wash the affected skin wim soap and water. Persons wim mucus membrane exposure should irrigate me area wim copious amounts of water or eyewash solution. Those exposed require medical evaluation and follow-up care, especially fever monitoring twice daily for 3 weeks after exposure. Clinicians caring for exposed persons developing fever during mis time should consult wim an infectious disease specialist immediately (54). 

PERSONAL PROTECTION wear impervious protective clothing, including boots, chemical-resistant gloves, lab coat, apron, sleeves, or coveralls wear splash-proof safety goggles or face shield enclose operations and/or use local exhaust ventilation at the site of release explosion-proof electrical equipment is required, as well as non-sparking handtools appropriate respirators are needed in areas where exposure would be above the permissible exposure level in high vapor concentrations, wear self-contained breathing apparatus maintain eyewash baths and safety showers in work area. 

PERSONAL PROTECTION Wear impervious protective clothing, including rubber boots and heavy rubber gloves wear approved chemical safety goggles mechanical exhaust is required wear NIOSH/MSHA approved respirator maintain eyewash baths and safety showers in work area. 

PERSONAL PROTECTION rubberized outerwear is required wear safety goggles and self-contained breathing apparatus air lines or ammonia canister masks are required equipment should not have copper, zinc, aluminum, or galvanized parts emergency showers and eyewash baths should be provided in the immediate work area. 

PERSONAL PROTECTION wear impervious protective clothing, including boots, protective gloves, lab coat, apron or coveralls use chemical safety goggles a system of lo-cal/mechanical exhaust ventilation is recommended to control emissions at the source and to prevent dispersion into the general work area in event of major leak, self-contained breathing apparatus may be required maintain eyewash fountains and quick-drench facilities in work area. 

One of the most devastating injuries a person can suffer is loss of eyesight. There are a number of protective measures which should be taken in the laboratory to prevent eye injury. However, should aU of these measures fail and chemicals enter the eye, an effective eyewash station is an essential item of fixed equipment that should be immediately available. Although superseded by the Laboratory Safety Standard, OSHA does require in Section 1910.151(c) of the General Industry Standards that... 

Small squeeze bottles containing a pint, or perhaps at most a quart, of water can supplement a plumbed eyewash station but are not acceptable as the sole eyewash devices. The basic problem is lack of volume. As a minimum, eyes suffering even a hght chemical bum need to be flooded with potable water for 15 to 20 minutes. The second problem is that the water in the bottle may become contaminated. Where plumbed water lines are not available, eyewash units connected to pressurized portable containers of water are acceptable substitutes if they contain sufficient amounts of water to meet the requirements of the plumbed units for at least 15 minutes. 

Turning on the eyewash should require minimal manual dexterity. Any number of mechanisms to turn them on are possible but perhaps the most popular is a simple paddle that the injured person can push aside. The eyewash should remain on continuously with no additional effort after the initial activation, but if an automatic cutoff is provided, it should not activate for at least 15 minutes or until 6 or more gallons of water have been dehvered. Many eyewash stations are mounted as part of the plumbing over a sink. This is convenient but not essential. In the following section on deluge showers, it wiU be pointed out that in the case of eye injuries, safety is more important than spilled water, which can be mopped up, so that floor drains are not strictly required for safety shower installations. Preferably, eyewash stations and deluge showers should be installed as a package since it is likely that if the eyes and face have been exposed to chemicals, other portions of the body quite possibly may have been contaminated as well. 

A major problem with most eyewash stations and deluge showers is that they are usually connected to the cold water line. The ANSI standard requires that the water be tepid but does not define what tepid is. Typically, tap water temperatures are in the 60"F to 70"F (15.5" to 21 C) temperature range, but in colder climates can be much less during the winter. Water at temperatures in the 50 s or lower can be painful itself, and in extreme cases can cause the injured person to go into shock. Although relatively few eyewash installations are capable of conveniently providing it, lukewarm water with temperatures close to body temperatures between 90" and 95"F (32 to 35"C) would be ideal. 

In the final rule for General Working Conditions for Shipyards, published on Monday, May 2, OSHA states that in work areas where it is imprachcable to place permanent (plumbed) quick-drenching facilihes, such as confined spaces, the employer would need to provide portable facilities. OSHA does not believe this requirement should pose a problem for employers since many employers aheady have these portable facilihes. OSHA correctly notes in the final rule that the ANSI Z358.1 standard includes specifications for self-contained eyewash equipment, as well as personal quick-drenching. 

The tepid requirement is important. It encourages users to complete the full 15-minute drench period which helps prevent chemical absorption, cool bums and prevents hypothermia. The standard also modified the eyewash flow verification procedures. The standard now mandates that when placing the testing gauge in the stream of the eyewash the flushing fluid shall cover the areas between the interior and exterior lines of the gauge at some point less than eight inches above the eyewash nozzle. 

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