Why Employers Are Required To Keep Eye wash Kit
Eyes are a precious part of our body. It requires taking regular care especially if you are working in a hazardous environment. An eye wash kit can help prevent serious permanent injuries to your eyes following any accident and incidents.
Keeping an eye wash kit is an essential first aid
thing to keep where there is a potential risk of injury to the eyes. Hazards to
your eyes can be found in different types of environments including
construction sites, chemical industries, laboratories, and even in our day-to-day
cooking and cleaning tasks. It is important to keep an eyewash kit ready to
provide immediate treatment when required as this minimizes the risk of
permanent injury to the eyes.
When you are exposed to hazardous substances, the
first 10-15 seconds are very critical and this is the time it requires
immediate treatment. Delaying treatment even for a fraction of seconds results
in permanent damage to your eyes.
Emergency showers as well as an eye wash kit can
provide on-the-spot cleansing. It allows the employees/workers to flush away
the hazardous substances to prevent further harm.
Irrespective of when personal protective equipment
is used with other safety precautions and engineering control, accidental
exposures can still occur. As a result, it’s imperative to keep the eyewash and
first aid kit clear of obstructions. When an Emergency Eye Wash Sign features
text reminding you to keep the area clear, it’s for the employee's benefit.
Reaching an emergency shower or eyewash station is necessary for minimizing the
effects of accidental chemical exposure.
Is it mandatory to have an eye wash kit and
eye wash station at the workplace?
Ideally speaking,
as per several government rules and policies it is mandatory to have eye
wash stations and kits to be kept in all workplaces where workers are exposed
to hazardous chemicals. If you are not sure about the requirements for using
the eye wash kits, the representative from the department will help with the
necessary details.
However, the employer should know if the worker is
exposed to any hazardous environment during the course of their duties. Hence,
the protection in terms of eye wash and eye wash station is mandatory to keep.
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