Protective Eyewear : Safety During Work, Recreation & Play
It's all to easy to take our eyesight for granted, and in fact over 2000 Americans are reported to have work-related eye injuries every single day. Over ninety per cent of these injuries could have been prevented if they had worn protective glasses.
Protective optics are essential to anyone working in a potentially hazardous environment. The majority of eye related injuries occur to construction workers, however a large number also happen at home or whilst playing sports.
Protective optics come in a huge range of styles, colors and sizes so there are sure to be a pair to suit your needs. They are also available with a range of different lenses for different purposes such as anti-scratch lenses for extra protection, tinted lenses, polarized lenses and bifocal lenses. No matter what your requirements are there will be a pair of protective glasses designed specifically for your safety needs.
Protective optics must adhere to strict standards before being sold, including passing numerous impact tests. In the USA, protective optics must have a ‘Z87' or ‘Z87+' printed on either the lens or frame if they have been approved as adequately safe. If you require tinted lenses for your protective optics they must also have a shade number printed on the glasses. If they are for use with a soldering iron they must have a shade of between 1.5 and 3 to be adequately safe. Whereas if you require protective optics for gas or arc welding the shade number must be 4 or more to provide adequate eye protection.
Protective optics are tested in many ways. One of the main tests that is used involves shooting ¼" steel balls at the lenses at a speed of 150 feet per second. If the lenses do not crack, chip, break or come away from the frames they will be given a safety rating of Z87. More rigorous tests are done for them to receive maximum ratings of Z87+.
If you may be subjected to flying debris or loose particles it is advised that you purchase protective optics with side protection. Modern safety glasses tend to be designed with a more stylish wraparound style. Some also have brow protection to ensure that you are protected from all angles.
One of the most important factors when choosing protective optics, other than that they are sufficiently safe, are to ensure that they are comfortable to wear. Protective optics come in a range of different comfort options, many with padded areas and comfortable designs. If they aren't comfortable you will be less inclined to wear them regularly.
* AO SUNGLASSES are NOT ANSI Z87.1-2003 safety glasses
Protective optics can be purchased with a range of different lenses, however the majority of them these days are made from polycarbonate. Polycarbonate lenses are much more practical than traditional glass or plastic lenses as they are much lighter and more shatter-proof. However, they scratch much more easily than glass lenses, so a protective hard coating is recommended to minimize scratching. It is also recommended that you purchase a restrainer strap for your protective optics so that you can let them hang around your neck when you're not using them instead of putting them down where they may get broken.
Protective optics are surprisingly cheap, and a good pair can cost from just $2 a pair, and no matter how cheap you are you can be assured that they all have the same levels of protection as long as they are approved by the ANSI. The more sophisticated and attractive you want your protective optics the more expensive they become. However very few cost more than $100 a pair. You can pay for additional extras too such as tinted lenses, UV coated lenses and anti-scratch coatings. These are generally very affordable.
Protective optics are an essential item for anyone working in a hazardous situation - either at work or at home. Even just mowing the lawn can cause eye injuries, many of which are permanent and irreversible. Protective optics are very affordable and it's a cheap price to pay to rest assured that your eyesight is protected.
