Archive for: First Aid
A doorway dilemma
You’ve heard the expression, “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
Well, when dealing with eyewash stations, you can think of it this way: “Don’t let the door hit you on the way in.”
At least that’s what the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recommends (see page four). According to ANSI updates in 2004, your facility may have a door separating emergency fixtures, but that door cannot have a lock and in must open towards the shower or eyewash station.
Plumbing the intricacies of eyewash station selection
Safety tip from Medical Environment Update, December 2008
Generally, eyewash stations with bottles of buffered solution don’t meet OSHA requirements—at least not for exposure to injurious corrosive materials. That is because in these types of exposures, OSHA requires “suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body.” The suitability of an eyewash station is not addressed in the standard, 1910.151(c), but any OSHA inspector will likely reference the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for eyewash stations.
Check your stopwatch to measure eyewash station needs
The topic of eyewash stations comes up a lot.
In general, the OSHA medical services and first aid standard requires eyewash stations in locations in which there is a risk of accidental exposure to corrosive or caustic materials.
There are definitely specific environments—high-level disinfection and processing areas for one—where I would be looking for eyewash stations, but only after looking at the chemicals involved.
