I just switched jobs into a new theatrical scene shop, and the woodworking facility doesn’t have an eyewash station installed. When I spoke with the Environmental Health and Safety department, I was told that an eyewash station can do more damage with sawdust than good, that it can actually cause more abrasion to use. I was surprised at this perspective, so I’d like to know what some of you working exclusively in the “wood” business feel about eyewash stations as first aid for getting sawdust out of your eyes.
I also work in metal in other parts of the shop and we use paint and other chemicals. My guy said I’d have a better chance at using the chemical usage as a justification for an eyewash station. So I’ll get one if I want one. I just wasn’t expecting this kind of perspective.
Thanks!
Elizabeth Pietrzak
Replies
My experience with people in the average commercial work shop is if they are bleeding but still conscious what is the fuss about?
I don't share that view but there it is.
I have seen'em take a shot to the eye and the next day be back at work; no eye protection using the big old table saw in the same way. Remarkable ! ! !
Sorry I am not helping am I ?
For them to have any interest at all in the eye wash station is really something. Best to learn when to use eye glass type protection and when to wear a full face shield. I can say splash and a squirt in the eye has always been what gets me. Have never needed eye wash for particulates and have done a lot of metal and a fair amount of wood.
I wear my head gear though and am thinking ahead to prevent problems.
I even had in office eye surgery. I did not get some thing in my eye. He was removing some thing off my eye that grew there. I was conscious the whole time. Pulled out the first layer of the eye with tweezer like tool and snap it slipped out of the tweezers and he grabbed it again to snip off the what ever.
Didn't hurt a bit. Really.
Not sure where I am going with all this but there it is. I guess I am saying have your own gear you can depend on and use it to take responsibility for PREVENTING a problem.
roc
Edited 12/25/2008 4:45 pm by roc
Edited 12/25/2008 4:46 pm by roc
I've been in commercial woodshops for many years and never came across an eyewash station. I also never felt that I needed one. There are a lot of other potential dangers to eyes - flying chips, chemicals, etc. But honestly, if dust is flying at your face there's something amiss in the setup. Dust and chip collection are necessities, just like wearing eye protection. But I've never felt that an eyewash station was called for.
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
The first-aid for any foreign body in the eye is to irrigate it first.
You don't have to have an eye-wash station that is plumbed in. I have a plastic squeeze bottle with a built in eye-cup. It came from Bel-Art Products in Pequannoc, NJ. It is nice to have in the house anyway so I keep it in the shop. It is filled with plain water. You can get a medicine cup from the pharmacy for a buck or two- it is a little harder to use.
Frank
http://www.testtubesonline.com/Poxygrid_Eye_Wash_Bottle_Wall_Rack_p/256-0013w.htm
$31. This is about 1/10th the cost of even a brief Emergenvy Room Visit
Frank,I've got a normal sink in the shop, normally just for washing hands and such. On occasion it has been used to wash an injury, even the occasional woodchip in the eye. But like I said, in over 30 years I can't recall ever wanting to wash dust out of my eyes.I've got nothing against any first aid precautions that anyone feels comfortable with. I'm just noting that the likelihood of a dust "incident" is pretty close to zero.David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
I know all the other options, I know there are disposable eyewash options (which I already have purchased for the shop, and frankly in 21 years in the scene shop, I've only seen the need to use them 2 or 3 times, all generally due to careless use of PPE by students), I know you can flush with water in any number of other ways, I know all the safety precautions that can prevent getting foreign particles in the eyes, what I would like to find out is whether there is any evidence to support my guy's claim that eyewash irrigation for sawdust will actually harm the eye. So far one response has hinted to the contrary, that the first response to any foreign particle in the eye is irrigation. This is what I'm interested in knowing more (or against) from people working professionally in wood shops.
You might want to contact "Gary" at cooks talk. He was until recently an ER doctor and has commented from time to time on matters medical.Cheers,Peter
Better life through Zoodles and poutine...
We were told that the value of an eye wash station is that it can provide a continuous flow of water across the eye surface to quickly dilute and wash out corrosive or poisonous chemicals. The continuous bit is important as the bad stuff soaks into the tissue and the continuous stream of water helps to leach it back out before it ruins the eye tissue.
We protected our eyes from solid stuff by wearing safety glasses - there were spare glasses in a box at every entrance, and you could (and stubborn folks did) get an unpaid vacation if you insisted on "forgetting" your safety glasses, even one foot into the shop. A display of photo's of what happens to eyes without safety glasses underscored the point.
That's ridiculous and is against the law. Every shop should have an eye wash station. Who knows what could end up in your eyes. It doesn't have to be a permanent, plumbed in station. It's easy enough to have a couple of bottles at the first aid station. Your employer doesn't understand OSHA regulations and is in violation.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Hammer1: My employer also doesn't want me to have a first aid station. They say that because the campus has a health center and a police station, first aid on the site is unnecessary. I'm also pushing through that silly perspective. First aid that is five to ten minutes away is not first aid. It's too late. And as far as I'm concerned, an irrigated eyewash station with a dust cover is necessary first aid, no matter how unlikely the chance of an incident.And I've had plenty of dust fall out of my hair and into my eyes as I'm taking off my safety glasses. Never enough to need to use the eye wash station, but enough times to know that anyone who says "the chances of dust getting into your eyes are practically zero" is as foolish as my guy.
All,
I am a physician. I usually don't like to say so out loud or give unsolicited advice, but ...
The damage a foreign body is going to cause is either a corneal abrasion from some particulate (dust or any other rubbish), or a chemical reaction.
I've gotten foreign bodies in my eye before and it hurts like heck .
The worse thing to get in you eye are alkaline substances which can pass through the sclera and coagulate proteins inside the eye.
In the ER we put something on the cornea that looks like a contact lens and is attached to a bag of saline and we irrigate the eye continuously. Unless you get metallic potassium or some other flamable metal in the eye, the treatment is going to be irrigation , irrigation, irrigation. If your boss won't let you have an eye wash station, then go buy one of the squeeze bottle types and put it where everyone but he knows where it is.
Employers in the US are obligated to follow OSHA regulations. 22 states have their own health and safety administrations. These are the same as the federal regs but may contain additional standards. Following the regulations is not optional. You should have an established and on going safety program. Just as the exists and fire extinguishers are marked, you must have a clearly marked and accessible first aid station. It should contain an eye wash bottle if an eye wash station is not provided. It doesn't matter if you, me or anyone else thinks the contents of the first aid box are useless, it's the law. It can not be in a desk drawer or two rooms down the hall. It's got to be right where you need it. You have voiced your concern and it has been ignored. Personally, I'd have my own kit. When it comes to surviving, don't count on someone else. Taking it further could be good or bad. I would guess there are other violations. It might be an opportunity to pick up an extra stipend as a safety officer. It could also be a way to label yourself as a PITA. Only you can make that call, you know the situation and who you have to deal with. It is your right as a worker to have a safe workplace along with the training and necessary emergency equipment.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Absolutely a necessity. I believe required in commercial shops as noted here in a previous reply. It makes no difference what your employers' OPINION is about the merits of said system.
Last spring I had foreign matter blow into my eyes in the shop. We use fans around the shop to keep cool and with overhead doors open it can become like a tempest in there. Anyway, that day, I was intimately acquainted with the eyewash station. First at our shop and then at company first-aid. For anyone who doesn't really know how long 15 minutes is, try your face in an eyewash for that long.
The other point is that there are many potentially hazardous materials in most shops that you should guard against. Our unit also has an overhead deluge shower. I'd hate to see that part needed and not have it.
The squeeze bottle/eye cup type systems we use in the field only.
-Paul
I've been trained on eye washes and showers for larger exposers. I don't know anything about eye washes and wood. I was trained in the semiconductor industry where chemical are used. I have had to shower one man, and had another over the eyewash. Both were for sulfuric acid exposures. Both men were wearing the proper safety gear at the time of the exposure.
Though I don't know how it would help with wood, I know 1st hand that eye washes and showers work on chemical exposures. And I've never seen a woodshop that doesn't have any chemicals. So I suggest an eye wash. Some folks might not know that the eye wash water is supposed to be cold water, not room temps or warm. As the water mixes with chemicals, a reaction usually occurs. The reaction will create heat, and can burn the eye further. The cooler water will help cool the reaction temps. So a portable eyewash that may sit at room temps may not be as effective as a eyewash that is plumbed to the domestic water supply, and may have cooler water temps.
Sorry for the lecture.
Elizabeth.. My oldest granddaughters name. She uses Lizz.. We use her proper name.
At first reading of the subject my immediate reaction was that OSHA required a washing station at any place where chemicals, air hoses, or power tools were used. I remember nothing that said NOT to use in woodworking areas.
I guess I was WAY off on what I 'thought' I knew.
If it were me.. I would try to get a Eye Specialist (Doctor) to answer your question.
I have asked Doctors strange question and not even charged for the visit. Of course you will probably get "Just my Opinion"..
I will say that long ago I got a sliver of glass or metal (I forget exactly what). I was amassed the she 'scraped' it away and told me it was good that I did NOT try to put anything in my eye to help clean it out. She did say that chemicals in the eye are exceptions.
It was, in her opinion, better to leave it 'as is'.
You will receive "Just my Opinion".. or "As I remember it from me"..
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