Eyewear

Eye Safety
Each working day in the United States, more than 2,000 employees sustain job-related eye injuries, making workplace injuries a leading cause of ocular trauma, vision loss and blindless. Safety eyewear must have ANSI Z87.1-2003 (which means it is impact resistant) marked on the frame or lens.

Benefits of Wearing Sunglasses
According to the June 2007 issue of Occupational Hazards magazine, sunglasses help in two important ways: They filter light and they protect the eyes from damaging UV rays.

Mounting scientific evidence shows that long-term exposure to UV rays can lead to cataracts, macular degeneration or skin cancer around the eyelids. Encourage employees to choose sunglasses that:

• Reduce glare
• Filter out 99 to 100 percent of UV rays
• Protect the eyes
• Are comfortable to wear
• Do not distort colors

Outdoor workers should be aware that if they are in locations where sun glare off of water or snow is an issue, they should wear sunglasses with a darker tint to block more light. The risk of eye damage from the sun is greater because of reflection off the water and snow.