2.2 Head, eye and face protection

1 When a hard hat is required

29 CFR 1926.100(a) is broad on purpose: employees working in areas where there is a possible danger of head injury from impact, or from falling or flying objects, or from electrical shock and burns, shall be protected by protective helmets. On an active construction site with overhead work, cranes, or scaffolds, that is nearly everywhere, which is why site rules simply require hard hats at all times inside the fence.

Paragraph (b)(1) requires head protection meeting ANSI Z89.1 in its 1997, 2003 or 2009 edition, and paragraph (b)(2) adds that where an employee is exposed to high-voltage electric shock and burns, the helmet must also meet the electrical insulation section of one of those standards. Paragraph (b)(3) allows any device the employer can demonstrate is at least as effective.

The ANSI document is copyrighted, so here is the part you need in plain language. Head protection is described by type and class. Type I protects against impact to the top of the head. Type II adds lateral protection — top, front, back and sides. The electrical classes are Class G (general, tested at 2,200 volts), Class E (electrical, tested at 20,000 volts), and Class C (conductive, no electrical protection at all). Look inside the shell: the type, class, manufacturer, and the date of manufacture are molded there.

Two consequences follow immediately. A vented hard hat — the kind with slots for airflow — cannot be Class E, because the vents are openings; if you work near energized conductors, check the class before you buy comfort. And an aluminum hard hat is Class C by definition and has no place near electrical work.

2 Wearing and retiring a hard hat

The suspension does the work. The shell spreads the load; the suspension holds the shell about an inch off the skull and absorbs the impact by stretching. A hat worn backwards with a reversible suspension is fine if the manufacturer allows it; a hat with the suspension removed or shortened is a plastic hat.

1. 1
   Adjust the suspension so the hat is level and snug enough to stay on when you bend over, with the crown straps not touching your head.
2. 2
   Inspect daily: cracks, gouges, a chalky or dull surface, a shell that feels stiff, cracked or frayed suspension webbing, keys that no longer lock.
3. 3
   Retire after any real impact, even if the shell looks intact — the energy went somewhere.
4. 4
   Follow the manufacturer's service life for the shell and suspension, counted from the molded date. Nobody else's number applies to your hat.
5. 5
   No solvents, no paint, no drilling. Petroleum-based products and paints attack the shell and can hide damage.
6. 6
   Do not store it on the dash of a truck. Heat and sunlight take years off the shell.

One current debate worth knowing: many contractors are moving from traditional hard hats to Type II safety helmets with chin straps, on the reasoning that a large share of head injuries involve falls and lateral impact rather than a tool dropped from above. Federal OSHA does not require Type II — 1926.100(b)(1) accepts Z89.1 without specifying type — but a site rule may.

3 Eye and face protection: what 1926.102 requires

The core duties are compact and they name the hazards:

• (a)(1) — the employer shall ensure each affected employee uses appropriate eye or face protection when exposed to hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation.
• (a)(2) — where there is a hazard from flying objects, the eye protection must provide side protection. Detachable clip-on or slide-on side shields are acceptable if they meet the standard.
• (a)(3) — employees who wear prescription lenses must have protection that incorporates the prescription, or protection that fits over the prescription glasses without disturbing the position of either.
• (a)(4) — eye and face PPE shall be distinctly marked to identify the manufacturer.
• (a)(5) — protectors must give adequate protection for the hazard, be reasonably comfortable, fit snugly without unduly interfering with movement, be durable, and be capable of being disinfected and easily cleaned.
• (b)(1) — devices must comply with ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2010, ANSI Z87.1-2003, or ANSI Z87.1-1989 (R-1998).

Personal prescription glasses are not eye protection. Ordinary lenses shatter, and the frames offer no side protection. Under (a)(3) the employer's choices are prescription safety eyewear or over-the-glasses protectors — and note from the previous chapter that 1926.95(d)(2) lets the employer decline to pay only for non-specialty prescription safety eyewear that may be worn off site.

4 Reading the Z87 markings

The Z87.1 standard is copyrighted and not reproduced here, but the markings stamped on your lenses and frames are what you actually use to select gear. Look at the temple or lens edge:

For welding, 29 CFR 1926.102(c)(1) points to Table E-1 in the standard as the guide for selecting filter shade numbers, and says shades more dense than those listed may be used to suit the individual. As examples from that table: shielded metal-arc welding with 1/16 to 5/32-inch electrodes calls for shade 10; the same process with 3/16 to 1/4-inch electrodes calls for shade 12; and carbon-arc welding calls for shade 14. Helpers and anyone else exposed to the arc need protection too — arc flash burns to the cornea are the classic "welder's flash" injury, and they happen to the person who walked past.

5 Choosing for the task, not the trade

A face shield is secondary protection everywhere in this table. It protects the face; it is not sealed and it lifts. Primary eye protection stays on underneath.

6 If something gets in an eye

Do not rub, and do not let anyone try to remove an embedded object. Flush chemical splashes immediately with clean water for an extended period — 15 minutes is the usual instruction on the safety data sheet — holding the lids open, and take the safety data sheet with you to the clinic. For a metal fragment or any impact injury, protect the eye without pressure and get medical attention; a rust ring from a steel splinter forms within hours.

Every eye injury also gets reported. Under 29 CFR 1904.39(a)(2) an employer must report the loss of an eye to OSHA within 24 hours, and the recordkeeping consequences are covered in chapter 4.3 of this course.