• The main types of eye and face protection include face shields, safety spectacles and goggles, and side shields.
• Each type of protection comes in several styles depending on the hazard and the needs of the user.

Each type of eye, face, or face-and-eye protector is designed for a particular hazard. The main types of eye and face protection include:

Employees using corrective spectacles and those who are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to wear eye protection must wear face shields, goggles, or spectacles of one of the following types:

• Spectacles with protective lenses providing optical correction;
• Goggles worn over corrective spectacles without disturbing the adjustment of the spectacles; or
• Goggles that incorporate corrective lenses mounted behind the protective lenses.

When limitations or precautions are indicated by the manufacturer, they should be transmitted to the user and strictly observed.

Over the years many types and styles of eye and face-and-eye protective equipment have been developed to meet the demands for protection against a variety of hazards.

Goggles come in a number of different styles:

• Eyecups,
• Flexible or cushioned goggles,
• Plastic eye shield goggles, and
• Foundrymen’s goggles.

Goggles are manufactured in several styles for specific uses such as protecting against dust and splash, and in chipper’s, welder’s, and cutter’s models.

Safety spectacles require special frames. Combinations of normal streetwear frames with safety lenses do not provide adequate protection and are not in compliance.

Many hard hats and nonrigid helmets are designed with face and eye protective equipment.

Face shields are intended to protect the entire face or portions of it from impact hazards such as flying fragments, objects, large chips, and particles. It is important to note, however, that when worn alone, face shields do not protect employees from impact hazards. OSHA says that face shields should only be used in combination with safety spectacles or goggles, even in the absence of dust or potential splashes, for additional protection beyond that offered by spectacles or goggles alone.

Face shield windows are made with different transparent materials and in varying degrees or levels of thickness. These levels should correspond with specific tasks. Window and headgear devices are available in various combinations to enable the worker to select the appropriate equipment.

What are the criteria for eye and face protection?

Protective eye and face protection devices must comply with any of the following consensus standards:

• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) Z87.1–2010 — Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices,
• ANSI Z87.1–2003 — Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices, or
• ANSI Z87.1–1989 (R–1998) — Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection.