The 1970’s Occupational Health and Safety Act was implemented to ensure that the workers are given healthful and safe working conditions. This law known as the OSHA or Occupational Safety & Health Administration was actually created and was authorized to impose safety regulations and standards to come up with a more fulfilled workers’ safety and health.
The truth is that OSHA has also adopted a number of regulations that specifically refer to the right and proper use of emergency eyewash and emergency shower. OSHA came up with a primary regulation that states: “whenever the eyes or any parts of a person’s body is exposed to certain materials that are corrosive, certain facilities that can be used for drenching and/or flushing of the body or the eyes shall be employed in the workstation or the work area to ensure immediate action during emergency situations.”
It will be very important to remember that emergency shower and emergency eyewash drench facilities should come with designs that deliver ample water to rinse off contaminants in the worker’s body or eyes. With such designs and characteristics, they can be considered as the first aid material or equipment that can be used in case of accidents.
However, these types of emergency equipment should not be used as replacements or substitutes for eye and face protection like face mask, goggles and protective clothing. And you have also need to remember that emergency shower should not be used as an alternative to some safety procedures and in handling unsafe and hazardous materials.
It is also very important to note that the emergency eyewash and shower units meet the ANSI Z3 58.1-2009 and should provide a ten-second travel time to a person who needs them. This means that the workplace should be equipped with such emergency devices that are highly accessible to all workers in the work perimeter. But there are also some considerations that need to be understood and anyone who would want to make use of such health and care facilities should read and understand location information printed on the unit.
It is also clearly understood that operation for such devices and equipment should come with user-friendly procedures. Generally, they should come up with certain features like turning Off and On in a period of one second and providing a user with hands-free operations the moment they are activated. It is also required by the Standard that emergency equipment should flush water or fluid in a tepid manner.
Furthermore, these types of emergency devices should provide instant decontamination and would allow the user or personnel to easily flush away hazardous chemicals and substances that can certainly make a person ill or injured. For example, flushing accidents require immediate, prompt, and effective action. A body part that has been exposed to hazardous substances should be flushed with clean water flowing in low pressure in not less than 15 minutes.
Wash stations for eye and face are designed to flush both face and the eyes simultaneously at a speed or velocity ideal enough to be non-injurious to the person using them. When these procedures have been administered, medical help should immediately take place.