| • | According to Prevent Blindness America®, eye injuries of all types occur at a rate of more than 1,000 per day. Of these, 10% - 20% will be disabling because of temporary or permanent vision loss - 100,000 cases per year. |
| • | The workplace is the setting for at least 61,000 of such injuries each year. Prevent Blindness America has been tracking workplace eye injuries for more than 50 years. In that time, the organization has recognized more than 84,000 people whose sight was saved in accidents because they wore eye protection. |
| • | According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)Fact Sheet 93-03, the financial cost of these injuries is more than $300 million per year in lost production time, medical expenses and workers' compensation. |
| • | The average eye injury costs about $3,600 in compensation and medical costs, according to the National Society to Prevent Blindness. That same amount could be used to provide protective eyewear/face protection for approximately 100 employees. |
| • | A 1980 survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that three out of five workers who suffered an eye injury wore no protection. And, of those who did, 40 percent wore the wrong kind. |
| • | Safety experts believe that proper eye protection could have prevented or reduced the severity of injury in at least 90 percent of all accidents. |
| • | To combat eye and face injuries on the job, dedicated plant-wide safety programs and emergency planning are essential. |
| • | Wear safety eyewear:
•whenever there is any chance that machines or operations present the hazard of flying objects, chemicals, harmful radiation or a combination of hazards
•when passing through or visiting areas that pose eye hazards |
| • | Before removing safety eyewear, brush, shake or vacuum dust and debris from headwear, hair, forehead or top of eye protection. Clean eyewear before next wearing. |
