In the interest of safety and basic First Aid, it is necessary that every lab, factory or workshop in which harmful chemicals are used installs an emergency eyewash station. This piece of equipment is designed to flush out the eye in order to reduce pain and damage in the interim between accident and the arrival of emergency services.
The facility can save sight in chemically-damaged eyes and is therefore not a negligible safety precaution. In order to ensure that it is effective, however, it is important that employees are trained to use it. First aid workshops and regular health and safety discussions should always include a section devoted to the eyewash station and how to operate it.
In the event that a harmful chemical comes into contact with the eye, it is crucial, to begin with, that contact lenses are removed. If these are left in the eye, the chemical becomes trapped and the damage is compounded.
Next, the employee must effectively hold open the eye and place it on the eyewash machine. This part will be extremely difficult and painful under the influence of the chemical, but it is also absolutely vital.
While the hurt staff member holds his or her eye to the eyewash, another employee needs to turn the machine on. It will then deliver a gentle and continuous flow of water to the eye and flush out the damaging chemical. The second employee should also ensure that the emergency services are called. Use of the eyewash facility is not a cure, merely a measure that must be taken in order to prevent damage from becoming too serious.