How to Keep Safety in Sight on Eye Injury Prevention Month

October is Eye Injury Prevention Month: an important reminder that on construction sites across the UK, it’s vital to always keep safety and eye protection in-sight. To mark this important awareness month, we’ve created a comprehensive learning guide on how to look after your eyes at work, regardless of the task you’re working on.

Whether you’re working on building sites once a month or every day of the week, your eyes need serious protection against the many risks they face. The fact is that 90% of eye injuries could have been prevented, with around 40% of injured people not wearing proper eye protection at the time of the incident. This month, we’re joining our partners across the construction industry in changing these statistics for good.

Eye Injury Hotspots on Construction Sites: What to Look Out For

Yes, construction sites are dangerous places in general. But what kind of things place your eyes at higher risk of injury? Let’s take a look at the 4 most common culprits: debris & dust, chemical splashes, sharp objects and UV/infrared light:

• Debris & dust: From time to time, we all get dust and debris in our eyes. However, on construction sites, the nature of the debris and dust presents a far greater risk of serious injury. Flying particles from grinding, cutting, drilling or demolition materials can cause abrasions or penetrate the eye, leading to serious injuries.

• Chemical splashes: On many construction sites across the UK, workers are handling corrosive substances like paint, solvents and cleaning agents. If these substances make contact with your eyes, you can experience burns or blindness.

• Sharp objects: Depending on the nature of the task you’re working on, you may be at risk of small fragments of metal or wood piercing the eye. This can result in serious trauma to the eye, and in many cases can cause permanent damage.

• UV and infrared light: As a construction worker, you’ll be working outside under the rays of the sun more than the average person. This puts you at more risk of retina and long-term vision problems, including cataracts, as a result of exposure to harmful UV and infrared light. These risks are also heightened when completing tasks like welding.

The scenarios listed above are only a few of the typical hotspots where your eyes will be at a higher risk of injury on a construction site, and the risks don’t end there. Regardless of what you’re doing, the fact remains: by wearing the right glasses, you can prevent over 90% of those injuries from happening. In the next section, we share some tips on finding the perfect pair.

How to Find the Perfect Glasses

Finding the right glasses to protect your eyes at work isn’t just nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. A number of UK regulations mandate the wearing of eye protection, ranging from the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (PPE) to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). Below, we’ve listed four key areas that require eye protection under these laws. Keep reading to keep safety in-sight!

1. Grinding and Cutting Materials

Few tasks lead to flying debris quite like cutting metal or grinding through brick, concrete or wood. If you’re completing these tasks without the right eye protection, you’re at significant risk of cuts, abrasions or more serious injuries to the eyes. 

• Bryson recommends: Our highly popular Uvex Pheos Spectacles. Featuring anti-scratch and impact-resistant lenses, their wraparound design ensures debris doesn’t get into your eyes from the sides. Where debris exposure is more extensive, we recommend safety goggles with a seal, such as Uvex Ultravision Goggles.

2. Handling Chemicals & Solvents

Workers handling hazardous chemicals such as solvents, adhesives, or cleaning agents are at risk of chemical splashes. These substances can cause severe eye burns, irritation, or even permanent damage if they come into contact with the eyes.

• Bryson recommends: When dealing with chemicals, it's essential to wear goggles that offer a complete seal around the eyes, preventing splashes from reaching the eyes. Bolle Blast Safety Goggles from Bryson provide excellent chemical splash protection while maintaining comfort and flexibility for extended wear. 

3. Welding & Metal Cutting

Unlike any other task on a typical construction site, welding tasks expose workers to intense UV and infrared radiation. Exposure to either can cause long-term damage to the eyes, including conditions like ‘welder’s flash’ and cataracts. Aside from that, cutting metal with a torch causes flying sparks - another significant danger.

• Bryson recommends: Welders must wear specialised eye protection that provides UV and infrared protection. Bryson’s 3M™ Versaflo™ Helmet with Comfort Faceseal offers automatic shading adjustments, providing clear visibility when not welding and instant darkening when the arc is struck. For workers exposed to flying sparks, safety goggles with anti-impact and heat-resistant features, like the Uvex Ultrasonic Goggles, are recommended.

4. Demolition & Heavy Machinery Operation

Last, but not least, let’s look at some of the many risks of eye injuries associated with those more heavy-duty tasks such as demolition and heavy machinery operation. Demolition activities create dust clouds, falling debris, and flying particles that can all cause eye injuries. Additionally, heavy machinery operations can throw up dirt, dust, and fragments into the air, posing a risk of injury to anyone in proximity.

• Bryson recommends: For these high-risk tasks, workers need robust safety glasses with high impact resistance and a secure fit. Bryson’s Bolle Contour Safety Glasses provide superior impact resistance and UV protection, making them ideal for demolition work or operating heavy machinery. Additionally, for extreme debris, safety goggles with added face protection can be used.

Other Tips for Staying Safe on Eye Injury Prevention Month

When it comes to keeping your eyes safe on Eye Injury Prevention Month, wearing the right protective eyewear should only form part of your safety strategy. To go beyond compliance and keep workers truly protected from eye injuries, you should consider other important steps such as conducting regular risk assessments, regular training and worksite controls. Here’s a brief checklist:

• Conduct a risk assessment: Before starting any construction task, perform a risk assessment to identify potential hazards to the eyes and ensure that the appropriate eye protection is available.

• Train workers on the importance of PPE: Eye protection is only effective if worn properly. Employers should train their workers on the correct use of safety eyewear and why it’s essential to wear it consistently.

• Regularly inspect and maintain PPE: Eye protection that is scratched, dirty, or broken may not provide adequate protection. Workers should inspect their eyewear daily and clean it regularly to ensure optimal performance.

• Implement worksite controls: Where possible, reduce eye hazards by using engineering controls, such as water sprays to reduce dust or machine guards to minimise the risk of flying debris.

• Keep eye wash stations accessible: Even with the best precautions, accidents can happen. Emergency eye wash stations should be easily accessible in areas where there’s a risk of chemical splashes or debris injuries. Workers should be trained on how to use them.

Tackling the root causes of eye injuries in the world of construction must start by building awareness, and on Eye Injury Prevention Month, we’re asking for your help to do just that. Share this blog far and wide throughout the month, and share the insights with your team.