December 31, 2010—The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the Vision Council recently released a new issue brief, Eye Safety At-a-Glance: Protecting Your Vision at Work, about the importance of workers protecting their eyes while on the job. Other Vision Council publications address such issues as computer-related eye strain.
According to the organizations, each day nearly 2,000 American workers suffer the pain of avoidable workplace eye injuries that require medical treatment. Yet, despite the risk of eye injury, many workers bypass appropriate precautions to protect their eyes.
In addition to the physical toll exacted by workplace eye injuries, they also come at great cost to businesses, notes the report—an estimated $300 million annually in medical bills, compensation and downtime. Lost productivity is another significant consequence, with more than 27,000 reported days away from work among private industry employees in 2008.
According to the report, potential eye hazards can be found in nearly every industry. While 61 percent of eye injuries occur in manufacturing, construction or trade jobs, threats like chemical exposure are present in hospitals, laboratories and many other types of workplaces. Research also shows that nearly three out of every five workers injured were wearing either the wrong kind of eye protection or no protection at all.
The Vision Council and ASSE note that using the proper eye protection, such as safety glasses, goggles, face shields and welding helmets, can prevent most eye injuries and cases of vision loss. They note that the eye protection chosen for specific work situations should depend on the type of hazard, the circumstances of exposure, other protective equipment used, and individual vision needs.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires the use of appropriate eye and face protection whenever there is a reasonable probability of injury that could be prevented by such equipment.
