ANSI Safety Glasses' Standards

For some workers, safety glasses make up an essential part of their workplace wardrobe in the same way a tie and briefcase do for office workers. Yet, the National Eye Institute estimates that proper protective eyewear usage could prevent 90 percent of workplace eye injuries. Whether you're manufacturing safety glasses, requiring that your employees wear them or your boss told you to get them, safety glasses standards apply to you.

The Facts

• New technology and work conditions continually create the need for updated safety requirements. The nonprofit ANSI, the American National Standards Institute, oversees many safety standards, including include safety glasses. The American National Standard for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection Devices, or ANSI Z87.1-2003, outlines the specific criteria for prescription and non-prescription safety glasses. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enforces the standard.

Types

• Safety glasses are available with clear or tinted lenses

  ANSI has different standards based on protective eyewear type. Non-prescription safety lenses don't have a minimum thickness requirement, unlike prescription safety lenses. Metal or plastic, safety frames must pass high mass and high velocity tests. Lenses come as clear or tinted--many sports sunglasses meet the ANSI standards, for example.

Features

• The ANSI Z87.1 standards categorize safety lenses as either basic impact or high impact. Basic impact lenses, usually made of CR-39--a resin often used for prescription lenses--must have a 3 mm thickness at the center of the lens, and pass a 1-inch drop ball test. Glass rarely gets used, due to its poor impact resistance.

  High impact lenses undergo high mass and high impact tests. Two lens materials, polycarbonate and Trivex, qualify as high impact and require a center thickness of 2 mm. Polycarbonate, the most commonly used lens material for prescription and non-prescription safety eyewear, has excellent impact resistance.

Identification

• Safety glasses that meet the ANSI standards will be clearly marked. All protective eyewear must be permanently stamped with the manufacturer and "Z87." Most non-prescription safety glasses have non-removable lenses and temples, so ANSI only requires one mark somewhere on the glasses. Prescription safety glasses have lots of changeable parts, so every individual piece has a permanent marking. The frames must have the manufacturer and "Z87-2" on the bridge and both temples. Both lenses need to have "Z87" if basic impact or "Z87+" if high impact, plus the lens manufacturer's stamp. Side shields display the manufacturer's mark and "Z87."

Significance

• The safety eyewear standards laid out by ANSI aim to decrease the number of workplace eye injuries. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, approximately 2,000 U.S. workers a day require medical treatment for on-the-job eye injuries. Many small and medium-sized employers don't have a safety eyewear program in place. The employers that adhere to ANSI standards experience fewer workplace injuries, and fewer work days lost.