CONTACT LENS USE
IN
POTENTIALLY HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTS
Employees and students who wear contact lenses in locations where there is a risk of receiving eye injuries such as punctures, abrasions, contusions, or burns as a result of contact with flying particles, hazardous substances, projections or injurious light rays (excluding Class IV Lasers) which are inherent in the work or environment, shall be safeguarded by means of appropriate face and/or eye protection (“special precautionary procedures” per Title 8, Section 3382). Employees and students shall not wear contact lenses while operating Class IV lasers regardless of protective eyewear worn. Although recent studies have shown that contact lenses do not increase the risk of accidental injury to the eyes (laser light injuries excepted), and in many cases may provide more protection to the eyes than spectacles (see attached), they may not be regarded as a substitute for protective eyewear.
CNSM employees and students wearing
contact lenses and working with hazardous liquids or solids must wear fully
enclosed, indirectly vented, flexible chemical splash goggles whenever they are
engaged in one or both of the following activities:
1. Opening or otherwise handling open containers of liquids or solids that are capable of injuring the eyes (acids, caustics, poisons, carcinogens, solvents, organic peroxides, boiling water, highly reactive chemicals, etc.).
2. Occupying or traversing the “splash zone” of someone working with the above materials. In CNSM labs, this typically means that one individual handling injurious materials in a laboratory necessitates the use of chemical splash goggles by all lab occupants.
CNSM employees and students wearing contact lenses and engaged in activities potentially involving flying particles, injurious light rays (excluding Class IV laser light), injurious gases etc. must wear the appropriate eyewear as stipulated by Title 8 Section 3382 and as approved by the CNSM Safety Office.
: attachment
ContactLensPolicy 3/01