Safety Glasses

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Research carried out by Prevent Blindness America reveals that each year more than 700,000 Americans injure their eyes at work, and another 125,000 injure their eyes at home. The study further revealed that 40,000 American children and adults suffer eye injuries during sports, while thousands of other eye injuries go unreported.

Protective eyewear in risk or hazardous situations is now essential, and to safeguard your sight you need safety glasses or goggles.

Safety glasses are classified as protective eyewear that meet the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). OSHA enforces the occupational health and safety standards while ANSI specifies manufacturing standards for protective eyewear.

Advances in technology today allow for safety glasses that are more comfortable and attractive than before, while meeting the current requirements of safety standards.

Safety Glasses at Work

The safety officer in your company should advise you on the level of eyewear protection needed to carry out your duties safely and according to regulations. Some occupations that will require high-impact resistant safety glasses include:

• Laborers
• Machinists
• Carpenters
• Millwrights
• Plumbers and pipe fillters

Some activities may require the use of side shields, goggles or even full face protection. The OSHA website can assist in determining the level of safety needed for various activities – www.osha.gov.

If you work as an independent contractor, it’s best to choose high-impact resistant eyewear to ensure you are covered for maximum protection.

Safety Glasses at Home

To ensure maximum protection, choose high-impact resistant glasses for all risk activities around the home. The home is a less structured environment than the workplace and may carry greater elements of risk. So rather be prepared.

Should you not require prescription lenses, or if you wear contact lenses, you can purchase non-prescription safety glasses from most hardware, building supply or sporting goods stores. These safety glasses are likely to be made of lightweight polycarbonate for comfort and are available in attractive wrap-style frames. High-impact resistant safety glasses usually will have the marking ZH7-2 on the inside of the frame.

Some models are available with a bifocal reading segment in the bottom half of the lens should you have presbyopia.

If you mow lawns or use a power trimmer or other power tools, choose a frame with side shields to protect you from flying debris.

Safety Glasses for Sports

Always choose safety lenses with a high impact rating for hunting and sport shooting, preferably with a wrap-style frame that is non-shiny and lenses with anti-reflective coating to eliminate glare and reflection. And make sure the lenses were tested for impact resistance after the coating was applied as AR coating can affect the resistance of some lenses.

There are many options from which to choose when considering safety glasses for sports, and your optometrist or an optical consultant can help you choose the most appropriate for your needs.