3M Podcast Global Science of Safety

Protective Eyewear Selection

Welcome back to another season of the podcast. The  3M Science of Safety podcast is a global podcast for all who are curious about the science and systems behind workplace health and safety with a focus on personal protective equipment (or PPE) used to help keep workers healthy and safe.

Curious to learn more about protective eyewear? Do spectacles provide splash resistance? Have you ever wondered about the purpose of different lens colors and coatings? In this first episode of season 2, co-hosts Mark Reggers and Laurie Wells, along with special guest Katie Aune, a Specialist Application Engineer and Certified Safety Professional in 3M’s Personal Safety Division, discuss eye protection in the workplace.  Eye hazards can be found in nearly every industry from construction, heavy manufacturing, mining, and oil and gas to chemical, pharmaceutical and utilities.  Tune in to learn more about protecting workers eyesight on the job including common hazards, types and styles of eye and face protection, and selection considerations including fit, lens tints, comfort, and compatibility.

This global podcast series provides another educational tool that can help increase your knowledge and is something that you can share with others in your organization and with your friends. The goal is to help provide a global perspective and foundation for those of you who are new to workplace health and safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) while also providing information for more experienced professionals who handle complex health and safety challenges.

You can listen, subscribe to, and share this podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and most major podcast apps and platforms.

If you have any questions or topic suggestions, you can get in contact with this podcast by contacting your local 3M office or visit our worker health and safety website at 3M.com. If you’d like some assistance in your workplace when it comes to the appropriate selection, use, and maintenance of PPE please contact us today.

Around the world, we aim to help everyone get the job done safely today, tomorrow and in the future.

Below is the full transcript of the podcast:

Speaker 1:

The 3M Science of Safety Podcast is a free publication. The information presented in this podcast is general only, should not be relied upon to make specific decisions. Listening to this podcast does not certify proficiency in safety and health. You should always seek the advice of a licensed or certified professional in relation to your specific work or task. Always consult the User Instructions for any personal protective equipment you are using and follow local laws and regulations. Information presented is current as of the date of the podcast and requirements can change in the future. 3M owns all rights to the podcast and production is strictly prohibited without permission.

Mark Reggers:
Hey, Laurie, how are you going? It is so wonderful to be kicking off another season, our second season of the Global Science of Safety Podcast.

Laurie Wells:
Well, good day, mate. I’m just so excited to be here today. <Laugh>.

Mark Reggers:
What? What did you just do? Do my ears deceive me?

Laurie Wells:
Well, I just said I’m so excited. You know, this is the start of our second season, Mark.

Mark Reggers:
I mean, I thought I heard something to say. Good day, mate. There is music to my ears

Laurie Wells:
Well, I thought, you know, I ought to brush up a little bit. You sound so great on the podcast, I thought I ought to learn a little Australian myself.

Mark Reggers:
Well, look, I am honored you’re trying to copy my wonderful accent, which is not an accent to me. But I certainly can help you out throughout this whole season of the podcast with a few other Aussie sayings. How does that sound?

Laurie Wells:
So, that sounds great, Mark. Thanks so much.

Mark Reggers:
Well, it’s my absolute pleasure to introduce our guests for this episode of the podcast, 3M’ s Katie Aune. Welcome, Katie, please tell us our wonderful listeners, a little bit about your background and what you do at 3M.

Katie Aune:
Thanks, Mark and Laurie for having me. I’ve been here at 3M for 10 years and I’ve spent the entire time as an application engineer here at our headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota. When I first came to 3M, I had a knowledge base around our 3M Scotchlite reflective material, but the past few years I’ve also gotten involved with our protective eyewear portfolio. My background includes a bachelor’s degree in environmental health and safety, and I’m also a certified safety professional here in the US.

Laurie Wells:
Welcome, Katie. It’s really great to have you on the program today. And you know, we’ve talked a lot about different PPE in the past, but we have not yet tackled eye protection, so it’s really nice that you have time to share with us today.

Mark Reggers:
So, Katie, when it comes to workplaces, I think about construction as an example about eye hazards. So what are some of the types of eye hazards and maybe some industries that do require eye protection commonly used in these places?

Katie Aune:

Well, that’s a great question and a great place to start. Eye hazards can actually be found in nearly every industry. You mentioned construction, but there are a lot of other industries including heavy manufacturing, mining, oil and gas to chemical, even pharmaceutical and utility markets. Some of the examples of hazards would be exposure to say flying debris and particles. And that usually happens in applications, for example, cutting, grinding, sanding, things like that. There’s also an exposure to molten metal or contact with chemicals and that would include things like liquid splashes, even gas vapors or fine mists. Now there can also be another category of hazards that are actually outside of our visible light space, which means it’s something we can’t see with the naked eye. This is exposure to things like ultraviolet radiation and then infrared from things as such as welding or brazing even like cutting or working around furnaces and different heat treating can have exposure to these hazards.

Mark Reggers:
So there you said there’s a wide range of hazards and applications, but not that I want to get you too graphic here, but when it comes to some of the injuries that these types of hazards can cause what should workplaces be thinking of? Unfortunately, we want to prevent.

Katie Aune:
Right, well, you hope you don’t have any right. But eye injuries, they can be very traumatic events that can be really painful to the worker and may even require some immediate medical attention. They can be a cause also for lost time from work and unfortunately can even lead to long-term effects. Those types of injuries that you may see would be burns, scratches, abrasions maybe foreign bodies in the eye or things like cataracts or unfortunately temporary or permanent vision loss.

Laurie Wells:
Well, that’s a long list Katie. There’s another one that I’ve heard of before that I don’t know anything about. So maybe you could talk a little bit about something called Arc eye.

Katie Aune:
Oh, sure. Yeah. Arc eye sometimes it’s referred to as welders flash as well. It’s an inflammation of the cornea from exposure to UV radiation while someone is welding. So the symptoms, it’s not something that’s going to develop immediately and your symptoms can actually develop several hours after the exposure and could last for several days. It kind of feels like you have sand in your eye.

Mark Reggers:
In many of our previous episodes, we’ve talked about the hierarchy of controls that employers work through to address these range of hazards. So does that same methodology apply here to eye and face hazards?

Katie Aune:
Yes, it sure does. The concept of a hierarchy of controls is well established in occupational health and safety. So PPE is utilized though when other controls are not feasible or are unable to reduce the exposure to an acceptable level. So sometimes PPE may also be used in combination with some of these other controls.

Laurie Wells:
Now thinking about that PPE for the eye hazards, I wanted just to explore that a little bit more, Katie, because I thought that we were just talking about protective eyewear, but it sounds to me like there are other types of eye protection as well.

Katie Aune:
Yes, there definitely are. There are different types of eye protection, but it’s essential to ensure that you’re selecting the appropriate type of eye protection and you want to look at those hazards again. So, the hazards are going to dictate what type of eye protection would be appropriate. So, some of the main categories for protective eyewear include goggles, face shields, welding helmets, and then of course spectacles.

Laurie Wells:
Ah, okay. So tell me more. You peaked my curiosity. So tell me about spectacles.

Katie Aune:
Sure, I’ll start with that. Protective eyewear or the spectacles as we call them, they’re intended to help provide impact protection. Protective eyewear is intended for applications where you may have flying debris or particles coming at you. One issue that’s seen on work sites is workers that are wearing protective eyewear for splash protection. So protective eyewear is not designed to fit snugly enough to the face. So you often have these gaps around the edges and those gaps would allow things like liquids or dust to go around the eyewear and then potentially into the, the wearer’s eyes.

Laurie Wells:
Okay. So, how do you propose to close up those gaps then?

Katie Aune:
Very good question. So that’s where protective goggles would come in. That’s the next category I mentioned, and that would be more appropriate for splashes or dusts. So unlike protective eyewear, the protective goggles are designed to fit real snugly to the face. They can be designed and rated for liquid splash. There’s also a category for dusts and then there’s a category for fine dusts. And all these options will also have that impact protection I mentioned earlier. So when you’re selecting a protective goggle, it’s really important to understand what the intended use is for each of the specific models.

Laurie Wells:
I see. So you’re not just thinking about the eyes anymore, now you’re talking about protecting the whole face altogether.

Katie Aune:
Yes. There are times where you’re going to have to think about whole face protection, not just the eyes. And that’s where face shields can come in. While highly effective as eye protection, your protective goggles and protective eyewear do not provide any protection for other parts of the face. So with certain applications, workers need to wear face shields in addition to the eye protection. And face shields include protective devices that are designed to shield the wear’s face from other hazards in addition to the eyes. Some examples where face shields could be considered would be spraying chemicals or if you’re sawing or cutting concrete or rebar and grinding with a handheld or table grinder.

Laurie Wells:
So you’re talking about grinding and you mentioned, we talked earlier about arc eye so I’m guessing you’ve got some more information that is really specific to the welding applications as well.

Katie Aune:
So yes, the final one I mentioned was eye protection designed for welding applications and that would include things like welding shields, which provide a coverage for the face and the eyes and it protects against radiation or sparks or some of that splatter.

Mark Reggers:
It’s interesting, you’ve had a few mentions about welding a bit more information and we’re actually doing a podcast episode later this season on welding hazards. So make sure people do download, listen to that at the time. I’m certainly keen to learn more about PPE for welding on top of the respiratory protection that many people are familiar with, but as you’ve highlighted very well, there is that eye and face protection consideration as well. Now I’ve seen when I travel, you know, and I’m sure many of our listeners have as well got these different, you know, safety glasses with different lens colors. Can you tell us a bit more about these different lens colors and some of the applications where you may be looking at these different types?

Katie Aune:
Sure. Definitely. So when you look at lens color, I would say clear lenses are probably the most common. However, there are a variety of lens color options for different types of industrial applications. So, when you’re choosing a lens color, the basic rule of thumb is the lens color will block its color opposite. So, gray and brown lenses, we start there.They’re going to reduce brightness and they’re going to reduce glare from the sun, and they’re going to be used mainly for outdoor daytime use. Then we have, there’s an option called indoor – outdoor lenses. So that’s an option that’s going to reduce brightness and glare, but they’re not going to be as dark as the gray and brown. So, this can be useful when workers are working both inside and outside. So an example where this lens could be used, if found appropriate, would be loading docks or forklift drivers, construction or, similar jobs like that.

They’re going to reduce brightness and they’re going to reduce glare from the sun, and they’re going to be used mainly for outdoor daytime use. Then we have, there’s an option called indoor – outdoor lenses. So that’s an option that’s going to reduce brightness and glare, but they’re not going to be as dark as the gray and brown. So, this can be useful when workers are working both inside and outside. So an example where this lens could be used, if found appropriate, would be loading docks or forklift drivers, construction or, similar jobs like that.

So now we’ll get a bit into more of like the color lenses that we mentioned. So yellow and amber lenses, they’re going to reduce the purple and blue lights. So I mentioned earlier the rule of thumb is the color opposites. So what that means is you’re taking a yellow and amber lens to block the colors on the opposite side of the color spectrum. So purples and blues. It also increases contrast and reduces haze from blue lighting. It’s good for inspection tasks and hazy overcast or foggy daytime hours. Then you have blue lenses. So blue lenses, they’re going to reduce brightness and glare from certain indoor lighting. So again, you’re blocking that opposite color. It’s very useful to help reduce glare or even eye stress and fatigue when you’re in a yellow light environment by wearing these blue lenses. And then again, we want to just briefly mention the welding filter shades. So, you have options in green or gray color lenses and they’re going to reduce the exposure to infrared radiation. And these lenses are predominantly used for gas welding, cutting, braising soldering. But these types of filter shades when they’re not an actual welding helmet, are used more for people who are in the vicinity of welding and are not used for people actually doing the welding.

Mark Reggers:
I mean, there’s so many different options when you think about spectacles and goggles and face shields and you’ve got the different lens type for the different applications. I mean, it can be maybe a little bit overwhelming, you know, for a person or a workplace trying to start with this. So, where does a workplace start to go down this path of selecting something that is appropriate for what they’re doing?

Katie Aune:
Eye protection performance requirements can really vary depending on what country or geographic location you’re in. And sometimes even by the type of work or application that’s being done at a a specific business or facility. In addition to performance requirements for eye and face protection itself, there’s often selection and use regulations that employers need to follow in. Standards in the different countries or regions may have slightly different requirements. So as I said earlier, protecting workers from eye hazards starts with conducting a work site assessment to better understand what the specific eye and face hazards are at your site. If PPE is going to be used as a control, it’s really important to select and use the eye and face protection in accordance with the applicable standards in your area.

Laurie Wells:
Yeah, certainly we all know the importance of the regulatory requirements, but I know there’s other things. So I’d like for you to talk a little bit about some other considerations that employers may want to take when they’re selecting their eye protection.

Katie Aune:
Well, in addition to selecting a type of eye protection appropriate for the exposure in the workplace, health and safety managers often will also consider factors such as comfort, fit and compatibility with other PPE and then also different coating options that might be available.

Mark Reggers:
That’s interesting. You actually just mentioned fit and Laurie and I have talked quite a bit in previous episodes last season about fit and other PPE like respirators and hearing protection, but I don’t think it’s something that people probably think about when it comes to eyewear and fit. Can you elaborate a bit more on fit for eye protection?

Katie Aune:
Sure. Well, well-fitted protective eyewear should really minimize the space between the lenses and your face. The less space you have that’s going to keep debris and projectiles from passing through into your eye, if a health and safety manager finds that they need to close up some of those gaps, but, the hazard does not require, say, a protective goggle, you don’t have to go that far. There are options to add things like foam gaskets to the protective eyewear that can help or even brow guards. It’s also important to consider your field of view and also the coverage of the protective eyewear. So the protective eyewear should provide really good coverage for the eyes, especially the soft tissue around the eyes. In addition, there are a wide variety of frame styles available and it’s important to make sure that the protective eyewear doesn’t interfere with the field of view for the wear when they look up, down or side to side.

You want them to be able to see everything in their environment while wearing the protective eyewear. So, protective goggles, they’re intended to provide protection from those splash and dust hazards we talked about earlier. So, you want to make sure that the shroud fits comfortably against your face without any gaps. You want to make sure with goggles that you’re getting a good seal. Now, if fogging becomes a concern or you wear prescription glasses, larger profile goggles that have a lens that sits further from your face can be a good option too. Wearing them over prescription eyewear can cause gaps in your shroud seal on the sides. So you do want to make sure that will be okay for your hazard that you’re protecting against. Lastly, in addition to fit, the eye protection should also be comfortable enough to wear for the entire duration of that worker’s day. A lot of eye injuries happen because the workers remove their eye protection while they’re still in the work zone because it’s not comfortable or they need, you know, to clear fog or something. So, it’s just important to really consider all aspects of what they’re going to be wearing so that they stay protected while they’re in the work zone for the entire time.

Laurie Wells:
Katie, you’ve mentioned so many things and, and there’s one more thing I’d like to pick up the thread that you talked about, you mentioned the word compatibility and I know that workers are often wearing a lot of different types of PPE at the same time, so tell me more about that.

Katie Aune:
Yes, Laurie, you’re right. Workers often do need more protection or they need protection from more than one hazard and they are wearing a lot of different types of PPE at the same time. So when that happens, it’s important really to consider all the other PPE that a worker may be wearing in addition to just the eye protection. So here’s an example. Wearing protective eyewear or protective goggles with a half piece respirator can be a common configuration. We see the PPE may compete for space on the same part of the face around the bridge of the nose. So it’s critical that you find equipment that fits together without causing any leakage around the respirator edges or decreasing that protection of the eye. So, as an alternative, employers may look for other options such as using a respirator that offers both eye and face protection along with the respirator protection. And these would include tight fitting, full face piece respirators. And there are some certain loose fitting respirators such as a powered air purifying respirator. So some of these loose fitting respirator options, integrate protection for multiple types of hazards. They combine respiratory protection with head protection, you have eye protection and also hearing protection.

Laurie Wells:
Well, I’m really glad that you mentioned hearing protection. Of course, you know that hearing protection is near and dear to my heart. And of course we’ve talked about compatibility with eye protection when we were talking about earmuffs the last season. But you know, there’s a lot to consider. So I’d like to hear from you, what’s your perspective from your safety specialty on selecting eye protection when you know that they’re going to be worn in combination with earmuffs?

Katie Aune:
Sure. That’s a really great question and a good topic. When you’re wearing eye protection with earmuffs, which is really common in a lot of industries such as construction or heavy manufacturing. You have temples or straps on the eye protection and they may prevent the seal of the earmuff cup from fitting snugly against the head, which will result in a decrease in hearing protection. When there is also a need to wear the earmuffs, employers should consider eye protection models that have thinner temples to help minimize the impact on that hearing protection. 3M’s SecureFit™ line is a great example of a style that has thinner temples and can work well with earmuffs.

Mark Reggers:
You mentioned earlier about lens coatings and fogging is the one that comes up so often in my world of things. So can you describe some of these options or things at workplaces you consider about these lens coating and the different types that there are out there?

Katie Aune:

Yeah, for sure. So if a worker’s environment is helping to create these fogging issues you mentioned then the employer should take a look at different anti-fog coating options that are available. So not all anti-fog coatings are equal, though some will help with occasional fogging, but then there’s also coatings like 3M’s Scotchgard Anti-Fog coating that’s going to help workers see clearly longer and it keeps working even after 25 washes. So these types of high performance anti-fog coatings are ideal for the workers in these extreme environments. And if they’re in an environment where they have significant temperature changes. Now besides that, there’s also some coating options for scratch resistance. So they’re going to typically be found on the outside of the lens. And this coating can help resist minor scratches in a wide range of applications like such as sanding or sawing or, or masonry.

Mark Reggers:
Katie, thank you so much for joining us today. You’ve really highlighted there’s a lot more to eye protection selection than just picking something out of a catalog and chucking it on and let the worker go out on the site. So look, thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge with us today.

Katie Aune:
Thanks again so much for having me. Eye protection is really a favorite topic of mine. 90% of eye injuries are preventable when you’re wearing properly selected and fitted eyewear. So having the right eye protection is so important and we are here to help with any questions.

Laurie Wells:
That’s great, Katie. Thank you so much. As Mark said it’s been really a joy to have you and I really learned a lot today. I tend to be focused on one thing with ears but it’s really good to hear that selection fit and the comfort and all of the different types of considerations that we have for other PPE apply to eyewear as well. So, thank you so much for being on the podcast with us today. So with that Mark, I think we need to wish each other goodbye. And my one remaining question for you is, how do I say goodbye in Australian?

Mark Reggers:
I mean, you could just say, see you mate. Is probably a good, way to finish up today.

Laurie Wells:
All right, looks like we started. Well, see you mate. Thanks for listening. Everyone you can listen, subscribe to and share this podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcast, and most major podcast apps and platforms. If you have questions, topic suggestions, or you’d like some assistance in your workplace when it comes to the appropriate selection, use and maintenance of PPE, you can get in contact with this podcast by contacting your local 3M office, or visit our website@mmm.com. Around the world we aim to help everyone get the job done safely today, tomorrow, and in the future. Thanks for listening and have a safe day. Stay safe out there, Mark.

Mark Reggers:
Stay healthy, Lori. Thanks everyone. Bye

Laurie Wells:
Bye-Bye.