How Important are Safety Glasses?

Eye injuries in the workplace are very common. The National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health reports that 2000 U.S workers sustain job-related eye injuries that require medical
treatment every day. However, safety experts and eye docters believe right eye protection
could have lessened the severty or even prevented 90% of these eye injuries.

Simply using the proper eye protection on the job could prevent thousands
of eye injuries each year.

Common eye injuries occuring at work can result from chemicals or foriegn objects in the eye
and cuts or scrapes on the cornea. Other causes of injuries include splashes with grease and oil,
burns from steam, ultraviolet or infrared radiation exposure, and flying wood or metal chips.

Two major reasons workers experience eye injuries on the job are because they were:

1. Not wearing eye protection, or
2. Wearing the wrong kind of protection for the job

The Bureau of Labour Statistics survey of workers who suffered eye injuries revealed
that nearly thee out of five were not wearing eye protection at the time of the accident.
These workers most often reported that they believed protection was not required for the situation.

New Zealand law requires the use of face and eye protection whenever there is a reasonable
probability of injury that could be prevented by such equipment.