Hazards and Solutions

Many workers are unaware of the potential hazards in their work environments making them more vulnerable to injury. Personal protective equipment (PPE) for the eyes and face is designed to prevent or lessen the severity of injuries to workers when engineering or administrative controls are not feasible or effective in reducing these exposures to acceptable levels. The following references aid in recognizing and evaluating eye and face hazards and provides possible solutions for these hazards.

• Eye Protection against Radiant Energy during Welding and Cutting in Shipyard Employment. OSHA Fact Sheet (Publication 3499). (January 2012). Focuses on radiation protection while welding.
• Personal Protective Equipment. (April 2006). Also available in Portuguese and Español. This is one in a series of informational fact sheets highlighting OSHA programs, policies or standards.
• Personal Protective Equipment. OSHA Publication 3151, (2023). Discusses the types of equipment most commonly used to protect the head, torso, arms, hands, and feet. Additional topics include requirements, hazard assessment, selection, and employee training.
• Health Effects from Contaminated Water in Eyewash Stations. OSHA InfoSheet (Publication 3818), (2015). Provides information about the organisms that can grow in stagnant water, how to prevent them from growing, and how to recognize infection signs and symptoms.
• Eye Safety. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Workplace Safety and Health Topic.
  • Eye Safety for Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. Includes information about eye safety, types of eye and face protection, and first aid for eye injuries.
• Current Intelligence Bulletin 59: Contact Lens Use in a Chemical Environment. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2005-139, (June 2005). Provides safety guidelines for contact lens wearers working in chemical environments.
• Eye Protection for Farmers. National Ag Safety Database (NASD) and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, (September 2006). Provides an overview of causes of injury, eye protection, and basic first aid.
• Toolbox Talk: Eye Safety. Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety & Health (elcosh). Discusses how and why eye injuries occur in the workplace and what to do to prevent them.
• How Much Eye Protection Is Enough? Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety & Health (elcosh), (February 2002). Provides help in determining when more eye protection is needed.
• Eye Safety at Work. Prevent Blindness America. Provides questions and answers to commonly asked questions about workplace eye safety.
• Eye Injury Prevention. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Federal Occupational Health (FOH).