Safety Glasses Guide

Safety eye wear is defined as any face or eye covering designed to protect the wearer's eyes from contact with flying objects, hazardous liquids, gases or other materials that may be hazardous to the eye. This eye wear is designed to resist impact and shattering when struck by flying objects or hazardous materials. Safety eye wear may include glasses, goggles, and faceshields with or without a prescription lens component.

Some examples of professions where safety eye wear should be routinely considered include carpenters, electricians, machinists, mechanics, plumbers, sheetmetal workers, sanders, grinding machine operators, welders, chemical handlers, and laser device/machine operators.

ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2015

Help protect yourself by choosing safety glasses that comply with the most recent ANSI standard.

ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2015, the American National Standard for Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices, is the latest edition of the standard for eye and face protection devices. The Z87.1 designation was first used in 1968, and the standard has been revised five times since then. The 2010 ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 revision was a dramatic shift away from product configuration requirements toward a hazard-based structure. The 2015 revision continues to focus on product performance and harmonization with global standards and fine-tunes the 2010 hazard-based product performance structure.

The ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2015 standard is organized by the nature of each hazard: impact, heat, chemical, dust and optical radiation. This approach encourages users to evaluate the specific hazards they are exposed to and select appropriate protection based on that evaluation. Products are either standard minimum-impact or high-impact protectors. In addition to the manufacturer's monogram, Z87 marking and impact marking, manufacturers must add lens type (welding, ultraviolet [UV] filter, visible light filter, infrared [IR] filter, variable tint or special purpose) and use protection against splash/droplet, dust and fine dust markings when claims of impact rating, specific lens type and/or use are made.

Challenges Faced by Workers Wearing Eye Protection

Lens Coatings

Help enhance the versatility and life span of eye protection by using eyewear with lens coatings available separately or in combination with others for enhanced functionality.

Anti-fog coating is designed to help reduce fogging in cold to warm temperature transitions and high-humidity environments.

Scratch-resistant coating is designed to help protect and extend the lens life when used in abrasive environments where scratches are possible.

Anti-static coating coating reduces dust and particulate attraction to the lens.

Hard coating is permanently bonded to lens to extend lens life.

Anti-UV coating absorbs more than 99.9% of harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Lens Color Guide

This handy guide will help you understand the functionality of task-specific lenses and to determine what color or tint may be best for your application and environment when it comes to workplace safety. A good rule of thumb is to choose a lens based on color opposites. For example, blue is the opposite of yellow and red is the opposite of green. So, red lenses absorb green light and yellow lenses absorb blue UV light and vice versa.

Clear 
Provides excellent optics for general indoor applications where impact protection is required.

Gray
For outdoor applications where light and glare can cause eye strain and fatigue.

Indoor/Outdoor
A clear lens with a slight mirror coating serves the same purpose as the gray lens, yet allows more visible light through the lens for indoor/outdoor use. Reduces glare from artificial light.

Gold, blue and silver mirror 
Use outdoors where sunlight and glare cause eye strain and fatigue. Mirror coating reflects light, reducing the amount of light that passes through the lens.

Brown/Espresso
For outdoor applications where sunlight and glare cause eye strain and fatigue. Most suppliers’ brown/espresso lenses meet color traffic signal recognition requirements.

Vermilion
Enhances contrast while reducing all color equally for optimum color recognition. Ideal for indoor inspection.

Amber
Blocks the blue portion of the visible light spectrum, creating maximum contrast enhancement, particularly in low light.

Filter shades

Protection from optical radiation is directly related to filter lens density. Rule of thumb is to always select the darkest shade that allows adequate task performance.

Shades 1.5—3 
Torch soldering

Shades 3—4 
Torch brazing

Shades 3—6 
Cutting

Shades 4—8
Gas welding

Shades 10—14
Electric arc welding

Hazard Assessment

Eye and Face Protection Selection Chart