Safety glasses
Safety glasses are a common piece of equipment used to protect the eye from injury, usually caused by an object or substance. Usually they are constructed out of plastic materials. Though many don't consider it to be, eye safety is an incredibly important, and easily remedied, subject in theater safety.
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Statistics
Every day, an estimated 1,000 eye injuries occur in American workplaces. The financial cost of these injuries is enormous, resulting in a loss of more than $300 million per year in production time, medical expenses, and workers compensation.[1]
Proper safety glasses
Many people think that wearing normal eyeglasses are adequate for their eye safety. However, normal eyeglasses do not provide the correct protection and could result in an even worse situation due to a false sense of security. Proper safety glasses are approved by OSHA and will have a ANSI z85 standard safety rating which indicates its impact strength. Safety glasses should cover your entire eye, and side-shielded glasses are encouraged because they offer optimum protection. Also, make sure your glasses are in proper working order by checking that they are not scratched so visibility isn't impaired. Furthermore, check all screws or other objects important in keeping your glasses from falling apart.
Common workplace eye injuries
Almost 70% of the eye accidents studied resulted from flying or falling objects or sparks striking the eye [1]. Interestingly enough, most of these objects were incredibly small, the size of a pinhead or less, and traveled at relatively high speeds. Avoiding these types of injuries would be nearly impossible without the appropriate eye protection. It is also important to have the right type glasses for the job. Other common forms of eye injuries result from chemical exposure leaking around safety glasses. In this case, properly ventilated goggles are the way to go.
Craftwork eye injuries
The majority of eye injuries occure in occupations involving craftwork. Theater involves a great deal of carpentry, welding, and machine work. Therefore, a scene shop is the prime location for an eye injury.
References
- ↑ Eye Safety. Web. http://www.eyesafety.4ursafety.com/eye-safety-articles.html#eyeprotection.
