This Safety Moment is going to require some effort on your part! I'm assigning everyone a homework task. But don't panic, this homework will be a piece of cake! What I'd like you to do on your way home today is spend the evening observing the many beautiful things in this world! For just one evening, stop taking your eyesight for granted!
Let me suggest the following:
As you leave the workplace today, look up, down and all around, observing the beauty around you. See the blue sky, the many shades of leaves in the trees, and the different birds that occupy them. When you get home, watch your children playing in the yard and pay attention to how their eyes light up when Daddy or Mommy gets home. Have you ever stopped to think how wonderful your eyesight really is? Well, think about it. For about two minutes, close your eyes completely and contemplate how life would be if you lost your eyesight! That's it-your homework is complete! Did you come up with visions about how your life would change if you couldn't see? Did they include any of the following?
- When you and your family are on vacation, they will have to describe the scenery to you.
- You would have to be led wherever you want to go.
- Your spouse would have to describe the way your children's eyes light up when they open their presents at Christmas.
- No more driving the new truck you just bought.
- No more leisurely activities such as hunting or fishing, watching movies or TV.
Does this sound like something you want to go through? I didn't think so! Is there a way to prevent this from happening? You bet-wear your eye protection! A recent article in Safety & Health states that everyday approximately 1,000 eye injuries occur in the U.S. OSHA estimates that 90% of eye injuries are preventable through the proper use of safety eye wear. What does this tell us? Many people are not wearing proper eye protection!
Let's examine a few operations that present eye hazards:
- Grinding, hammering, chiseling, wood working or any other activity that might cause large fragments or small particles to fly through the air and into the eyes;
- Painting, spraying, sanding, metal working, spot welding or any process that may cause dust, fumes or tiny particulate to become airborne;
- Work tasks such as electric welding and cutting with a torch, furnace tending or operations around radiant energy or intense heat;
- Operations such as handling acids and caustics, and hot metal casting and bab-bitting where gases, vapors, liquids or splashing metals are generated.
Your eyesight is a precious gift. Please do not wait until it's too late to come to your senses. If your work presents an exposure to eye hazards, wear your eye protection.
Don't take chances. Open your eyes and protect your vision!