Protective Eye Wear i.e., the safety spectacles or goggles are used to protect human eyes from various hazards which are present in different types of work places. The hazards present in the work places are much more harmful compared to those present in our domestic life and hence the protection required is also high in several parameters.
Based on these possible hazards in the work places, the protective equipment i.e. the safety eye wear is designed with higher attributes to ensure protection. Safety eyewear must conform to a higher standard of impact resistance than regular eyeglasses. This higher standard applies to both the lenses and the frames of safety glasses and goggles. Regardless of their size or the durability of the frame and lenses, regular prescription eyeglasses do not qualify as safety glasses as they do not meet certain criteria.
POSSIBLE HAZARDS TO THE EYES AT WORK PLACE
| S. No. | Field of Work | Usage of Area | Risk |
| 1. | Mechanical Work | Grinding, drilling, stone cutting, maintenance | Impact, Dust |
| 2. | Outside Work | Gardening, road works, building site work, shooting | Impact, Glare, UV |
| 3. | High Dust Area | Cement packing, Mines | Dust, Impact |
| 4. | Handling machinary | Fork lift truck, heavy plant HGV, PSV | Glare, UV, Changing light conditions |
| 5. | Medical Application | Laboratory, general surgery | Liquid splash, infected blood |
| 6. | Chemical Application | Painting, Handling chemicals | Chemical splash (acid, aklalis) Paint spray |
| 7. | Metallurgy | Furnace works | Impact, infra-red, molten metal, glare |
| 8. | Surface Inspection | Quality control, Wood lamp, curing | Ultra Violet, Blue Light |
| 9. | Rigging | Wind mill maintenance, towers | High wind, dust |
| 10. | Gas Welding | Welders assistant, brazing, gas welding, oxy-cutting | Ultra Violet, glare, IR, sparks |
| 11. | Arc Welding | Welder’s assistant, plasma cutting | Ultra Violet, glare, infra-red, sparks |