The Importance of

1

• The Importance of
• Eye Protection for Work
• Recreation
• Produced by the
• American Optometric Association

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Eye Safety is Everyones Business!
Government estimates show that there are about
2,000 eye injuries each and every day in the
workplace that require medical
treatment. Ninety percent of these injuries
could be avoided with properly fitted protective
eyewear.
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Question 1 A majority of workplace eye injuries
happen to workers who were not wearing adequate
eye protection.

• True
• False

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Answer

• True
• Approximately 60 of workers with eye injuries
  in a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) study were
  not wearing the proper protective eyewear at the
  time of their injury. Also, many of these
  injuries were to bystanders.

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Question 2 Chemical burns are the leading cause
of eye injuries in the workplace.

• True
• False

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Answer

• False
• Chemical burns accounted for only 20 of the
  injuries. Nearly 70 came from flying debris,
  sparks and small objects striking the eye. Of
  these, many were moving at high speed to embed in
  the eye.

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Question 3 If an object is embedded in a
patients eye, do not cover the injured eye.

• True
• False

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Answer

• False
• First, call for emergency help. After calling,
  the immediate first aid is to cover both eyes to
  prevent the injured eye from moving with the
  healthy one. Remain as calm as possible.

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Question 4 After injury, the eye usually heals
with no major long-term complications.

• True
• False

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Answer

• True
• While TRUE statistically, small scars main
  remain, impairing vision and, when eyes dont
  heal, the result can be total blindness!

National Eye Institute National Institutes of
Health
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Question 5 Employers are required to provide
face and eye protection to workers at risk for
job-relatedeye injuries.

• True
• False

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Answer

• True
• The Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration (OSHA) standards require employers
  to provide suitable eye protection to workers.

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Question 6 Protective eyewear must be properly
fitted to be effective.

• True
• False

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Answer

• True
• Of the eye injuries which occurred to workers
  wearing eye protection, 94 were caused by
  particles or chemicals striking the eye from
  around or under the protective shield. Protective
  ocular equipment broke in only 1.3 of the cases.

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Question 7 Training employees on the proper use
of protective eyewear can reduce workplace eye
injuries.

• True
• False

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Answer

• True
• A large majority of employers provide protective
  eye equipment however, a much smaller portion
  provide training for its proper use.
• Making sure workers USE the proper protection in
  the proper situation is just as important as
  providing the protective equipment.

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Question 8 Construction workers are at a low
risk of workplace eye injury.

• True
• False

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Answer

• False
• Construction, mining, and manufacturing have had
  the highest incidence of eye injuries in recent
  years.
• Many injuries occur with both power tools
  (welders, grinders, drills) and hand tools
  (hammers and saws).

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Question 9 Workplace eye injuries result in
millions of dollars of losses for employees and
companies.

• True
• False

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Answer

• True
• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
  over 924 million of workers compensation
  payments resulting from workplace eye injuries in
  2001, and almost 4 billion of lost wages and
  productivity for the same year.

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Question 10 New occupational tasks can result
in new vision needs.

• True
• False

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Answer

• True
• A change in ones job tasks may require
  different focusing abilities. This is especially
  true for workers over 40 years old. Be sure to
  visit your optometrist for a thorough eye exam to
  assess how your vision, job performance and job
  safety can be enhanced.

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Dont Forget Home and Recreation

• Yard work, wood working, cleaning!

Basketball, Baseball, Racquet Sports!
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In addition to foreign bodies,eyes need to be
protected against

• Harmful Ultraviolet (UV) Rays
• Choose quality sunglasses that
• block UV light clear lenses can
• be coated to protect from UV
• Eyestrain Due to Computer Use
• Use spectacles designed for a
• particular workplace situation

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Prevent Injuries Before They Happen

• Many eye injuries can be prevented.
• The American Optometric Association encourages
  the use of protective eyewear that meets the
  standards set by the American Society for Testing
  and Materials (ASTM) and the American National
  Standards Institute (ANSI).