• Emergency eyewash and shower installations must meet ANSI specifications.
• According to ANSI standards, it should only take an injured person 10 seconds or less to reach emergency equipment, which is about 55 feet.
• Eyewash/shower stations should draw attention to themselves. Emergency equipment should feature prominent signs with large letters, stand in a well-lit area, and be painted with bright colors.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not provide much detail about emergency eyewash and shower installations. Instead, OSHA letters of interpretation state that these installations must meet the specifications of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) / International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) Z358.1, American National Standard for Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment. OSHA has also released OSHA STD 01-08-002, an instruction on eyewash and body flushing facilities in storage battery charging and maintenance areas. These two documents generally call for:

Notes:

• A water hose may be used in conjunction with eyewashes or safety showers, but not as a substitute for them.
• The exposed employee (who may be partly blinded by chemicals) must be able to reach and use the eyewash and/or body drenching equipment within 10 seconds. ANSI says this is 55 feet.
• Obstructions, such as machines and equipment, must be considered in locating eyewash stations.

10 second rule

If work processes will expose anyone to highly corrosive or extremely dangerous chemicals, then the emergency equipment is required to be immediately adjacent to the work area, meaning there should be no delay in reaching the eyewash/shower station.

• The ANSI standards say it should only take an injured person 10 seconds or less to reach emergency equipment. ANSI says this is about 55 feet.
• Employees who need to use emergency eyewashes or showers may experience pain, blurred vision, impaired judgment, or panic
• Assist affected employees in an emergency. Contact management and emergency medical services whenever the eyewash/shower is used.

Location

The route to the emergency equipment should be easily traveled and free of obstructions. The standards say:

1. The eyewash/shower should be on the same level. Employees should not have to use staircases or elevators to reach them.
2. One door between the workspace and the shower station is allowed, but only if there’s no risk of exposure to corrosives. It can’t lock to prevent access.
3. The path to the equipment should be kept free from any obstruction. Nothing should stand between the injured worker and the eyewash/shower station.
4. The eyewash/showers should not be placed next to electric hazards. Water and electricity don’t mix.
5. There should be some way to contain or drain the runoff. 15 minutes of continuous flushing creates quite a puddle!

Eyewash/shower stations should draw attention to themselves. Emergency equipment should feature prominent signs with large letters, stand in a well-lit area, and be painted with bright colors.

Battery charging and eyewashes

Does the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) require an eyewash in a forklift battery charging area? Based on an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission ruling, employers are not required to have an eyewash (and/or shower) station for an area where no maintenance is performed on powered industrial truck batteries; that is, when they are being charged only. However, it would still be considered a best practice to have an eyewash (and/or shower) station in the charging area.