A pair of prescription work goggles can prove to be of immense value in protecting your eyes from harm. Your eyesight is very precious and you should do everything in your power to protect it. Failure to do so can lead to not just an eye injury but possibly even total blindness. Hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer eye injuries each year at work and many thousands of people hurt their eyes at home. Even when playing a sport, you can injure your eyes. Instead of gambling with your eyesight, it makes more sense to protect it.
Eye injuries are preventable
According to experts, almost all eye injuries are preventable. It is therefore a good idea for you to learn how to protect your vision. Choosing the right eye protection and making changes to your lifestyle can ensure the perfect vision for the rest of your life. Of course, you may be under the false impression that a pair of eyeglasses is enough to protect your eyes.
This is far from the truth as ordinary prescription glasses are not designed to protect your eyes. They simply enhance your vision and make you look good. They are not made from tough materials that can withstand high impacts. Safety eyewear for your work, on the other hand, is made from the very toughest materials that are capable of withstanding high impacts without breaking, cracking, or being damaged.
Safety standards
To choose the right pair of goggles at work, you need to make sure that they conform to high standards of impact resistance. Both the frames and lenses of your safety goggles must conform to the very highest safety standards. They should be made from very tough materials and they must also pass certain strict tests for durability and resistance. Even the best prescription glasses do not have frames or lenses that can withstand high impacts.
In the US, the fed govt. has laid down the guidelines regarding safety at the workplace. These guidelines were formed to protect workers at their workplaces. And, it is up to OSHA to spell out the safety guidelines and practices at the workplace as well as in educational institutes. The standards adopted by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) are applicable for many different products including safety eyewear and safety goggles.
ANSI standards
ANSI (American National Standards Institute) has its own standards and so, it makes sense to learn a little bit more about these. The most basic test conducted by ANSI is the impact test in which the lenses, without being mounted on a frame, are tested for impact resistance. If the lenses and the frames need to be certified for high impact resistance, they need to be put together as one unit and then this unit will be tested. Only if it passes the test, will it get the ANSI certification.
Thin lenses
ANSI has now permitted the use of thin prescription safety lenses. Earlier, it only allowed 3 mm thick lenses but now thanks to new technologies, it is permitting the use of thin lenses for impact resistance. There are two types of impact-resistant lenses. One is the one that passes the basic impact test and the other is the one that passes high impact tests.
To see whether the lenses pass the basic impact test, a ball is dropped on the lenses from a height of fifty inches. If the lenses do not break, chip, or crack then they have passed the basic impact test. If you are planning on using glass lenses, then you should only use those that have passed this basic impact test.
For lenses that need to have high impact resistance, the lenses will be put through a high-velocity test in which a ¼” steel ball is shot at the lens at speeds of 150 ft./sec. the lenses must not crack break or chip in order to pass this test.
Safety ratings
Once the eyewear has passed the ANSI safety tests, it will be given a safety rating depending on which test it has passed. You need to know for sure what the lenses can do in terms of providing eye safety. If the ANSI Stamp on the lens has a plus mark after the ANSI stamp, then it means that the prescription lenses are capable of withstanding high impacts.
If there is a V or an S sign after the ANSI mark, it means that lenses are either photochromic or they have a special tint respectively. Sometimes, a number is also added to denote what amount of light is able to pass through the lenses.
Who should wear eye protection?
If you are a carpenter, plumber, or pipefitter, or if you are a machinist, millwright, or laborer, then you must wear the right prescription safety glasses. If you need full-face protection, then again you should use work goggles. It is up to your employer or safety officer to determine what type of goggles are right for your kind of work. For more information about how to choose the right work goggles, you should consult the International Safety equipment Associations guidebook which can be purchased from the website of this organization.
The bottom line is that you need to use prescription work goggles if you are working in an environment where the eye hazards pose a special risk to your eye safety. Be sure to choose a pair that has the right kind of impact-resistant properties. If you normally wear prescription glasses then it is a good idea for you to purchase prescription work shades. You can even find a pair that has bifocal lenses.
Ideally, your prescription work goggles should have the ability to protect your eyes against high impacts. In such a case, look for a pair whose lenses have the ANSI mark followed by a plus sign. The frame should have the Z87-2 mark on the inside of the front of the frames and the temples. Use these tips to help you buy the best pair. You can buy a good pair at a good price at an online seller of considerable repute called Cheapglasses123.com. They have the widest selection and their eyewear is of a very good quality and the prices charged are most reasonable. So, be sure to give them a try.