What causes eye injuries?
Common causes of workplace eye injuries include: · Impact. Flying particles or falling objects — such as plastic bits or metal flakes — hit your eye, resulting in a puncture, scratch or bruise. · Dust. A dusty job task, such as sanding woodwork or buffing a floor, causes dust and grit to fly into your eye, resulting in irritation or scratches. Dust and grit may be especially hazardous to people who wear contact lenses. · Chemicals. Direct contact of chemicals in your eye can result in serious damage, such as a burn to the surface of your eye. Liquid chemicals can splash into your eyes, but you can also become injured from harmful chemical vapors, mists or fumes. · Heat. Being exposed to high temperatures, molten metal or hot sparks poses a potential burn hazard to your eyes. · Optical radiation. Unprotected exposure to the intense light of a welding torch, a laser or any other such device can result in retinal burns, cataracts and permanent loss of vision.
