Industrial Environments:
Safety goggles are indispensable in industrial settings like manufacturing plants, construction sites, and workshops. Workers in these environments face numerous eye hazards, including flying debris, chemicals, and dust. By providing a robust barrier, safety goggles significantly reduce the risk of eye injuries, making them a non-negotiable part of industrial safety gear.
Laboratory Safety:
In laboratory settings, safety goggles are a must for scientists, technicians, and students. Labs often involve handling hazardous chemicals that can cause severe eye injuries or irritation. Safety goggles designed for labs protect against chemical splashes, allowing for safe and uninterrupted work.
Sports and Recreation:
Athletes participating in sports such as basketball, baseball, and hockey use safety goggles to protect their eyes from high-speed projectiles and collisions. These goggles are designed to offer maximum protection while ensuring comfort and clear vision, making them an essential piece of sports equipment.
Hobbyist Activities:
For those involved in hobbies like woodworking, metalworking, or other DIY activities, safety goggles provide crucial protection. These activities often involve the use of power tools, which can generate flying particles that pose serious risks to eye safety.
Medical and Healthcare Settings:
In medical environments, safety goggles are vital for protecting healthcare workers from blood, bodily fluids, and other biohazards. These goggles ensure that the eyes are safeguarded against infectious agents, contributing to overall workplace safety in hospitals and clinics.
Emergency Services:
Professionals in law enforcement, firefighting, and emergency response rely on safety goggles to protect against dust, debris, and other hazards encountered during their duties. These goggles are built to withstand the challenging conditions faced by first responders, ensuring their eyes remain protected.
Portwest PW22 Challenger Goggle
In the UK, safety goggles must comply with the European standard for eye protection, which is known as EN 166. This standard sets out the requirements for the design, performance, and testing of eye protectors, including safety goggles.
EN 166 specifies the minimum requirements for materials, construction, and performance for eye protectors, such as goggles, visors, and face shields. It also defines the different levels of impact resistance and optical properties that eye protectors must meet in order to be certified.
When purchasing safety goggles in the UK, it's important to check that they meet the EN 166 standard, which should be indicated on the product or its packaging. This ensures that the goggles provide the necessary level of protection and have undergone appropriate testing and certification.
In conclusion, safety goggles are a versatile piece of personal protective equipment that can be worn in a variety of settings to protect the eyes from potential hazards. They are an essential tool for workers in industrial, laboratory, and medical settings, as well as for athletes, hobbyists, and first responders. If you work in an environment where there is a risk of eye injury, it is important to wear safety goggles to protect your eyes.
If you work in a laboratory and aren't sure if you need safety goggles then check out this blog on laboratory safety goggles.
It is important to understand what your risks are before choosing which type of safety goggles are best for you, we hope that outlining a few uses for safety goggles this will aid you in selecting correctly, OAKEYS safety has a great range of eye protection from well known brands like Bolle, Honeywell, Uvex, Portwest offering anti scratch, anti mist, liquid splash, chemical protection, welding and other specialist types of goggles to ensure you have the right product for the job.