The Crucial Role of Emergency Eyewash Stations
Emergency eyewash stations are central to the safety of everyone around them. What are some key innovations to eyewash stations, and how do companies ensure proper usage?
- By Justin Wilson
- Aug 01, 2023
Employees walk by their work sites’ emergency eyewash or shower station every day, hoping they never need to use them or, more likely, not giving them a second thought. However, when these stations are needed, they must work properly.
Throughout my career, I’ve seen the state of pipes in manufacturing plants and certain other facilities, and the water that flows from them. Many of us have seen online videos of teachers using their emergency showers for the first time in years (if ever) and having a slew of brown, dirty water pour out. While these videos are presented as lighthearted and amusing, imagine needing to use an emergency eyewash station and having rust and mineral-filled dirty water shoot out. The importance of maintaining, flushing, and regularly checking these fundamental pieces of safety equipment isn’t something we should look past.
These stations are central to the safety of everyone around them, providing a first line of defense against dangerous burns and eye damage from chemicals, debris and more. However, the technology used remains largely the same as it’s been since the 1980s – simply activate the flow of water by pulling on a shower chain or pushing a valve handle to flush your eyes.
Advantages of Sensor-Enabled Stations
One of the few advancements we’ve made has been in sensors and alerts that go off when an eyewash station is activated, but those sensors and alerts are only as useful as people make them. So, what are some of the benefits of these sensors, and what should the people responsible for using, maintaining, and responding to incidents involving them know?
First, these sensors will improve the response and reliability of the stations, alerting the security or front office if it’s used. Additionally, to prevent dirty water from pouring out of the station and flowing into the victims’ eyes, these systems can provide reminders to conduct regular maintenance, keeping the water clean and ready to go for when it’s needed. Even if the system has a false alarm, someone must go visually to inspect the station to turn the alarm off, providing a touchpoint to make sure nothing is wrong and that things are working properly.
How Eyewash Station Alarms Enhance Safety
Washing station alarms can help first responders in case of an emergency. If someone is working with corrosive chemicals that splash in their eyes, their priority is getting to the eyewash, and therefore they may not be able to let anyone know what has happened. By the time they have finished flushing their eyes for the recommended 15 minutes, and can go seek help, a lot of vital time has passed.
This article originally appeared in the August 1, 2023 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.