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OSHA Requirements on Safety Glasses

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires the U.S. government to set safety regulations for businesses and to enforce them. Workers have to wear personal protection equipment for any job that can harm their health. Eye injuries are one of the easiest injuries to avoid if workers wear eye protection. OSHA determines the work settings that need safety glasses, approves the materials they're made of, and requires training.

  1. Requirements

    • OSHA requires employers to decide what hazards there are in the workplace and what personal protective equipment is needed, including protective eyewear. Employers have to select, provide, and maintain safety glasses necessary to protect workers and make sure the glasses properly fit employees who have to wear them. Employers have to train workers how to wear safety glasses properly, and how to take care of them. OSHA collaborates with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), which oversees creation of guidelines that impact business, to recommend quality equipment for employee protection.

    Hazards

    • There can be eye injuries in any workplace, but injuries are more likely to happen in manufacturing plants or among craft workers such as mechanics and carpenters. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, three of five workers in a study of 1,000 eye injuries suffered the injury when not wearing safety glasses. Nearly 70 percent of the injuries were from sparks, flying particles, or falling objects hitting the eye. Chemicals caused one of five eye injuries. Others occurred when tools slipped, or objects like chains, ropes, or tree limbs swung into a worker's eye.

    Types of Eye Protection

    • Safety glasses should have impact-resistant lenses made of polycarbonate or a material approved and labeled as meeting ANSI standards. Safety glasses with side shields protect workers' eyes from particles that can fly into them. Some safety glasses are tinted to protect eyes from harmful rays. Face shields are often used along with safety glasses when employees work with chemicals, heat, glare, and welding materials.

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