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Many work hazards present the risk of serious harm to the eyes. The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 requires employers to take all practicable steps to eliminate these hazards or to isolate the hazard from the employee.

Where this is not possible, employers must take all practicable steps to minimise the likelihood of harm to employees. They must provide suitable eye protection for employees and ensure it is used. Employees have a duty to wear the eye protection while they are exposed to the hazard. All eye hazard areas in places of work should be clearly signposted.

Spot the hazard
Conduct a workplace survey of any task that might generate flying particles. Look for the possibility of flying objects or particles, lack of safety shields or guards around metal grinding, cutting and hammering jobs, unsuitable or inadequate eye protection. Sunglasses and prescription glasses are not adequate protection against flying particles, even when fitted with side flaps.

Unless flying matter can be safely contained within a task area, for example by safety screens, curtains or booths, it can also cause eye injuries to people nearby, even though they are wearing safety glasses. For most tasks that generate flying particles, safety glasses, goggles and/or face shields should be standard equipment in addition to other safety measures.

Poor skills or work practices - possibly resulting from lack of information, training supervision - may increase the risk of flying fragments. Lack of maintenance to tools may also increase the risk. Unless regularly filed flat and clean, and any "mushrooming" removed, the striking faces of hammers and the heads of metal "dollies", punches and chisels may fracture, causing metal fragments to fly off when a hammer strikes.

Assess the risk
Once you have identified eye injury hazards in the workplace, you need to make some judgements about the likelihood or possibility or people being injured. The likelihood and the degree of injury will depend largely on the way the work is done and safety procedures are applied. Flying fragments or particles striking the human eye invariably cause injuries requiring medical attention, and involving days or weeks to heal. Metal is capable of causing more serious injuries than, for example, masonry, particularly if particles are glowing hot.

Make the changes
While protective equipment - eg safety glasses, goggles and face screens - may be a standard safety requirement at many workplaces, protective equipment should always be the last line of defence. Other ways of making the workplace safe are preferred. If other ways can eliminate or sufficiently reduce the risk of eye injury, eye protection may not be necessary.

For tasks like metal hammering, grinding and welding, and where flying particles cannot be prevented or contained, close fitting goggles should be worn. Safety glasses, goggles, face shields and face screens are available for a wide range of work conditions, as detailed in AS/NZS 1336:1997.

Eye protection complying with the equipment standards AS/NZS 1337 or AS/NZS 1338 should have indicative markings on it and may have markings on the packaging; these markings should be looked for when purchasing safety eye protection equipment.

The best solution is always to remove the hazard entirely. As this is not always possible, here are some guidelines for applying safety controls in a preferred order of priority - from most effective to least effective:

• Remove the hazard at the source - get rid of the work equipment or procedure that generates eye-damaging matter.
• Substitute the equipment or process with a less hazardous one.
• Isolate the hazard - relocate it away from people.
• Add safeguards - such as safety barriers or screens.
• Adopt a safer procedure. Consider improved safety training and supervision.
• If there are still risks, provide suitable protective equipment, and make sure it is used.
• To ensure hazards have been made safe, safety measures should be checked and monitored.

Where hazards persist
To help prevent eye injuries in workplaces where eye hazards cannot be avoided, employers and persons in charge should:

• Ensure the preferred order of controls (above) has been considered.
• Ensure eye protection is adequate against identified eye injury hazards.
• Know the latest eye protection information, procedures and equipment.
• Provide information, training and supervision to ensure safe procedures are followed and adequate eye protection is worn.
• Ensure eye protection is worn by employees and visitors at all times in identified risk areas and situations.
• Signs and possible markings should clearly indicate areas or situations where eye protection must be worn.
• Consider providing both goggles and face shields for high-risk work.
• Ensure eye protection is properly maintained. Dirty or scratched lenses impair vision and are more likely to be removed.

Ensure adequate first aid training is provided and first aid equipment is available for emergency treatment to eye injuries.