When Do I Need Eye Protection?
In general, eye protection is necessary whenever there’s a potential for hazards to the eyes, such as:
- Projectile impact
- Dust
- Chemicals
- Radiation
Proper eye protection includes safety glasses or safety goggles and face shields. Other safety gear such as welding helmets can offer protection for specific tasks. Knowing the different types and variations of each helps you find the right eye protection for your project.
The equipment you choose must provide the right amount of protection, but you should also consider comfort. The best eye protection will allow for comfortable and efficient work, making it more likely you’ll wear it consistently.
Safety Glasses
Safety glasses can protect you from projectile impact and dust. The lenses provide a barrier from the front, while side shields are necessary for proper protection from lateral threats. Many safety glasses also provide ultraviolet (UV) protection for outdoor use. Safety glasses are lightweight, and some designs fit just like prescription glasses or sunglasses. Others are designed to fit over standard prescription glasses. For even more protection, you can find safety glasses that include a gasket around the frame for a closer fit.
Some of the best safety glasses have additional features that can make your work more efficient. Look for fog resistance and scratch resistance as well as lenses that are tinted for outdoor use or high-contrast vision. Some glasses have LED lights built into the
frame to illuminate your work. Bifocal lenses provide magnification for detailed work, and flat-temple glasses are designed for a better fit under earmuff-style hearing protection.
Safety Goggles
Safety goggles, like safety glasses, provide protection from projectiles and dust. Some types also protect against chemicals. Goggles tend to be a bit heavier than glasses, but they enclose the eye area and fit tightly to the face, providing protection from any direction. Most goggles cover the face around the eyes and can fit over prescription eyewear.
When looking for the best goggles for a particular project, consider ventilation. Since goggles seal to the face, they often have ventilation to prevent fogging. Direct ventilation can be as simple as a series of small holes around the body of the goggles. The holes allow airflow but are small enough to keep out many particles. These goggles are appropriate for impact and dust protection, but those with indirect ventilation are necessary for chemical protection since they don’t allow a direct path from the hazard through the goggles.
Face Shields
Face shields provide impact, dust and chemical protection for the entire face (or a large portion of it), but they generally don’t provide sufficient eye protection when used alone. While they can provide significant facial coverage, and some even wrap under your chin, they typically aren’t designed to fit tightly. Because of this, debris and chemicals can reach your eyes from the bottom or sides. Face shields should really be considered secondary protection. You must wear them along with the primary protection of safety glasses or safety goggles for an effective barrier.
Welding Goggles and Helmets
Eye protection designed for usage with welders and cutting torches can protect the eyes from impact hazards and from the intense heat and light radiation the equipment produces. These hazards will damage unprotected eyes, and the heat, sparks and droplets of molten material can burn the eyes and face. Eye protection for welding and cutting is available in the form of goggles and helmets.
The shade number of the welding protection lens or lenses indicates the light-radiation intensity the equipment allows through. A higher shade number means a darker lens that allows less light radiation through to the wearer’s eyes. Make sure factors such as shade number and lens color are appropriate for the work you’re doing or observing.
Welding Goggles
Welding goggles fit tightly to the face but don’t provide the face and head protection of helmets. Some welding goggles protect the eyes and the face around them. They’re available with flip-up, shaded lenses that let you easily view your work when the welder or cutting torch isn’t in use. Cup-type goggles feature two lenses that fit closely over the eyes and protect the eyes only. Depending on the design, you may need safety glasses in addition to welding goggles.
Welding Helmets
Welding helmets provide protection to the eyes, the face and part of the head. Some are designed to protect the neck. Welding helmets feature a single lens or window that’s either fixed or flip up. These helmets are secondary protection. They must be worn in addition to the primary protection of safety glasses or other eye protection goggles.
You may also see handheld welding shields, which protect the eyes and face but must be held in place. Like helmets, you must use these with safety glasses or safety goggles.
Auto-darkening welding helmets have sensors that automatically control the darkness of the lens, adjusting across a range of shades based on the light intensity.
Other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Some protective equipment integrates several types of defense, such as a hard hat with built-in hearing protection and face shield or a respirator with a full-face mask that covers the eyes. Depending on the type of work you’re doing, these integrated safety solutions can simplify protecting yourself from multiple hazards. Whether you want multi-hazard gear or individual pieces of PPE, if your task requires eye protection, it probably requires additional protective equipment, too.