It is also important to recognize that showers and eyewashes have to meet certain ANSI design criteria. For example, drench hoses and portable bottles are not suitable substitutes for properly designed eyewashes. The images provide examples of acceptable showers/eyewash stations with one exception noted by a red cross out.
Portable eyewash stations are only acceptable in situations where fixed installations are not feasible. This would be unusual in a space designed as a chemical laboratory. ANSI guidance would require a portable station to have a capacity of at least 6 gallons, but portable stations are discouraged except for field applications where plumbing is not available. Bottles of eyewash solution are not acceptable. We have even encountered laboratories where the occupants have built their own “safety shower.” Of course, this is not acceptable.
Citations and Related Resources
Citations
- 1910.1450(e)(3)
- Prudent Practices 7.F.2.5
- ANSI Z358.1
- BMBL Section IV