Do you want to risk losing your precious eyesight when glasses or safety goggles that will keep your eyes protected for the rest of your life with good vision? As per Prevent Blindness America, each year, more than 700,000 Americans are injured at work, while another 125,000 suffer eye injuries at home. More than 40,000. American adults and children sustain eye injuries from games, while many more eye injuries are not reported.
Since experts claim that proper safety goggles can prevent as much as 90 percent of accidents to the eyes, you may wish to know more about protective glasses or goggles that will fit your preferences best.
Safety Glasses over Glasses?
Safety goggles over glasses should meet an even higher level of impact resistance than standard glasses, which optical experts frequently refer to as “dress eyewear.” The higher standards apply to both the lenses and the frames of safety glasses and goggles. Two types of safety glasses are prescription and non-prescription (also known as “Plano” safety glasses.
Whatever their size or the quality of the lenses and frames, regardless of their size or the durability of the frame and lenses, regular prescription eyeglasses are not considered safe glasses unless they satisfy the standards. In the United States, the federal government sets safety guidelines for workplaces to lower the chance of injuries on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is part of the U.S. Department of Labor and is responsible for safety measures on the job and in educational settings.
OSHA is announcing safety goggles standards developed in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). This private non-profit organization sets safety and quality standards for a broad range of products.
The ANSI standard for eye safety covers a variety of eye protection devices, including glasses (both prescribed and not), goggles, eye guards and welding helmets, and full-face respirators.
ANSI requirements for protective eyewear
Newly updated ANSI Safety Eyewear Standards incorporate the following features of importance:
The most basic impact tests, lenses are tested on their own (not placed in frames). Then, the classification of high-impact lenses and frames is tested as a whole.
Non-prescription lenses designed to test high-impact are considered less durable than prescription lenses constructed of the same material. Prescription lenses tend to be more robust. Lenses with thinner thickness prescriptions are accepted, provided they meet standards for high-impact testing. (Previously, all prescription safety lenses were required to be at least 3 mm thick. Of 3 millimeters. This makes them considerably thicker and heavier than normal prescription
eyeglass lenses.)
Safety lenses now have two types that perform: the basic and the high level of impact.
“The “drop ball” test determines the fundamental impact safety classification for lenses. The test involves dropping a 1-inch size steel ball drop on lenses from a distance of 50 feet. For the lens to pass the test, it must not chip, crack or break. Glass safety lenses have to be tested for this. For safety lenses made of plastic, only a statistical sample from an extensive collection of lenses must be examined.
In high-impact testing, the high-speed test is carried out by firing an inch-wide steel ball towards the lenses at a rate of 150 feet per minute. To pass the test, the lens should not chip, crack or break, and cannot be detached from the lens’s holder.
How to Evaluate the Safety Goggles Ratings?
The Plus symbol. To determine if the lens has been able to pass the test of high velocity described above, search for an “+” mark that means it has passed the test in high impact.
This mark can be used on any prescription lens with a similar or more thickness (at the thinnest part of the lens) made from the same material from the same manufacturer with the identical coating(s) used.
“V” and “S” marks. Other lens markings on safety lenses include “V” (indicating the lens is photochromic) and “S” (indicating the lens has a specific tint). In certain cases, there is a possibility that a number will be engraved on a lens with a shade to show how much light transmission is diminished due to the tint.
Safety glasses with shades for use with molten metal as well as in brazing, soldering, cutting, and welding procedures are available with tint density that vary between 1.5 up to 3.0 (mild or moderate shades for torch soldering) between 10 and fourteen (very shaded for welding with electric arcs).
All safety lens labels are required to be permanent. If the lenses do not meet the high impact standard, the warning label, which is removed only by the wearer, has to be placed on prescription safety eyewear.
Standards in Protective Eyewear
Non-prescription safety glasses with lenses that cannot be removed are required to be permanently marked with the trademark of the manufacturer as well as “Z87” (basic impact) or “Z87+” (high impact) either on the front of the frame of the temples.
Safety frames for prescriptions must be permanently marked with the trademark of the manufacturer and “Z87-2” on the front of the frame, as well as at both temples.
For more information, you can buy the standard ANSI Z87.1-2003 safety goggles standard on the American National Standards Institute website.
Safety Lens at Work?
The safety manager at your company must determine which degree of security (basic and high-impact) is necessary to perform your job.
Some jobs that require eyewear that is high impact are:
Carpenters
Pipefitters and plumbers
Machinists
Millwrights
Laborers
Certain activities might require goggles, side shields, or complete face protection.
Safety Glasses Canada
Rom safety goggles Canada are available on stores and can be bought from online stores. Additionally, The International Safety Equipment Association has released its “Eye and Face Protection Use and Selection Guide” to serve as an accompanying document of the standard ANSI Z87.1-2003 standard. The guide is available for purchase through the site of the organization.
If you’re self-employed, you should select safety eyewear evaluated at the highest impact standard for all types of activities for extra security.
Last Thoughts
Your eye doctor might require confirmation that the lab used by your optics specialist tested the safety goggles correctly for impact resistance following the application of the coating.
Your eyesight is priceless. Whether you require a prescription or non-prescription glasses for safety, the investment you make to safeguard your eyes and your vision will yield dividends when you decrease the chance of getting a vision-threatening accident.