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This article discusses everything you need to know about face protection and how to use them properly to ensure safety at work.
Published 7 Jul 2023
Face protection refers to specific personal protective equipment (PPE) worn on the face, including safety glasses, goggles, respirators, and a variety of face shields. This PPE covers the eyes, nose, and the rest of the face against workplace hazards like chemical burns, toxic airborne particles, and radiation, to name a few. Workers in manufacturing, construction, mining, and healthcare are required to wear these as mandated by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and similar regulatory bodies.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), up to 2,000 workers suffer from eye injuries because of failure to use appropriate face protection PPE. A third of that number leads to emergency room treatments. Some are not as fortunate because the damage results in blindness. Worse, that is not the only danger workers face.
Below is a list of hazards that can be avoided by wearing face protection:
There are numerous kinds of protective gear for the face. Some can be attached to helmets, while others merely shield sections of the face. Each has a specific application depending on the kind of work that the user does.
The ANSI (American National Standards Institute) establishes Standard Z87.1 as the criteria for eye and face protection. Employers should take note of this before purchasing PPE sets for their workers. Besides that, here are the other factors to consider:
Everyone understands that wearing suitable face protective gear is vital when working with hazardous materials. But with the statistics provided by OSHA, CDC, and BLS, many still overlook or disregard this imperative safety measure, resulting in injuries and production time loss. SafetyCulture can help your organization ascertain that everyone is on the same page regarding protocols.
Eunice Arcilla Caburao
Eunice is a content contributor for SafetyCulture. A registered nurse, theater stage manager, Ultimate Frisbee athlete, and mother, Eunice has written a multitude of topics for over a decade now.
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