Overview
Emergency eyewash stations are not immediately available, accessible, and/or operable in areas where any material that can have an adverse effect on the health and safety of humans is used. Eyewash stations have not been tested regularly.
This page contains the citable offenses related to emergency showers and eyewashes. We’ll start by discussing the criteria of “immediately available.” In general, one would expect to find plumbed emergency showers and eyewash stations in spaces designed and constructed to be chemical laboratories. This is particularly true for recently constructed or remodeled buildings. This may not be the case for older constructed laboratories.
If you are inspecting an older facility, note if there is a lack of eyewash stations and/or emergency showers generally throughout the building or parts of the building. If the situation is isolated, the appropriate follow-up action lies with the PI. Isolated situations are often attributed to the investigator attempting to use the space as a laboratory when it was not designed in this manner. In such cases, the Senior Specialist will investigate further based on hazards and processes reported by the auditor. In these circumstances, there will likely be other safety violations particularly under the topic of laboratory and engineering controls.
The requirement for an eyewash and safety shower is related to processes with hazardous chemicals and that could result in significant harm. So, you may have to exercise some judgment. For example, a laboratory may lack an emergency shower/eyewash station, but there is no chemical use in that space (e.g., the only activity in that space is growing plants or cataloging seed, etc.). In this case, the lack of an emergency shower/eyewash station would not be a violation. Likewise, it may not be a violation when very small quantities of hazardous chemicals are used, when the processes are totally enclosed, or when the room is used for storage only (no dispensing or open container work). However, under no circumstances can use of PPE substitute for a safety shower or eyewash.
In most cases, showers and eyewashes are located within the laboratory or immediately outside of the lab and this is generally acceptable. In a few cases, you may find that the shower or eyewash is located some distance from the laboratory. The ANSI guidance (e.g., accessible within 10 seconds, and 55 ft. from location of hazard, doors open in the direction of travel) can be difficult to interpret and usually requires evaluation of specific processes conducted within the lab and chemicals used. In cases where the eyewash station and/or shower are not located within or immediately outside of the laboratory, note what hazards are present and the physical layout of the access. This situation should then be discussed with a Senior Specialist reviewer to determine if there is a violation or concern.
Citations and Related Resources