Eye injuries
- Striking or scraping: Small particles like dust, cement chips, metal slivers, and wood chips often hit or scrape the eye, causing most eye injuries. Wind can blow these particles, tools can eject them, or they can fall from above. Larger objects can also inflict blunt-force trauma.
- Penetration: Nails, staples, or slivers of wood or metal can penetrate the eyeball and lead to permanent vision loss.
- Chemical and thermal burns: Industrial chemicals and cleaning products often cause chemical burns to the eyes.
Welders can experience thermal burns that damage the eyes and surrounding tissue.
Eye infections
Eye infections can occur or spread when germs touch the surface of the eye. This can happen through blood splashes, droplets from coughing or sneezing, or by touching your eyes with dirty hands or objects. While some infections may cause minor symptoms like redness or soreness, others such as HIV, hepatitis B, or influenza can lead to serious illnesses.
Preventing eye injuries and infections
Example of safety glasses worn to protect against eye infections.
Fit or adjust your eye protection to make sure you have proper coverage, comfort, and adequate peripheral vision.
Wear personal protective eyewear, such as goggles, face shields, spectacles, or full facepiece respirators.
Eye protection for the work situation depends upon the nature and extent of the hazard, the circumstances of exposure, other protective equipment used, and personal vision needs.
Role of employers
Employers can ensure engineering controls are used in the workplace to reduce eye injuries and to protect against ocular infection exposures. Employers can also conduct a hazard assessment to determine the appropriate type of protective eyewear for a given task. Employers should consider selecting or purchasing protective eyewear that meets current safety standards.
Engineering controls for eye protection can include modifying equipment (dust controls), adjusting the workspace, or using protective barriers.
Engineering controls used in tuckpointing can remove dust from the work area and provide protection.
Resources
CDC/NIOSH
- Search the NIOSHTIC-2 database of occupational safety and health publications funded in whole or in part by NIOSH.
- NIOSH conducts Health Hazard Evaluations (HHEs) to help employees, unions, and employers learn whether health hazards are present at their workplace and recommends ways to reduce hazards and prevent work-related illness. Evaluations are done at no cost to the employees, unions, or employers. For a listing of HHE reports related to eye safety search the HHE Database.
Other Federal Agencies
Eye Safety and Illness Data
Work-RISQS The NIOSH Work-Related Injury Statistics Query System (Work-RISQS) provides national estimates and rates of occupational injuries and illnesses treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments. To obtain annual occupational eye injury statistics do queries based on ‘Part of Body = eye’.
Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducts an annual survey of employers to assess nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in U.S. private industry. Eye injury statistics are provided for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable incidents that involve days away from work (see Nonfatal injuries and illnesses case and demographic characteristics sections for Part of Body = eye).
