For Workplace Safety, the Eyes Have It By E.J. Mundell, HealthDay Reporter
According to PBA statistics, welding equipment remains the biggest source of eye danger at work, causing nearly 14,000 injuries in 2002. Another 9,000 workers reported injuries from use of a wide variety of tools. Chemicals such as acids and adhesives can splash into the eyes, causing serious damage, as well.
'Hammering and grinding are especially likely to produce little metal particles that can fly off in high velocities and actually penetrate the eyeball,' adds Dr. Ronald Danis, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Wisconsin and a member of the board of directors at the American Society of Ocular Trauma. 'Other common mechanisms are poking-type injuries -- for example, when someone is pulling on a wire and suddenly it comes free,' hitting them in the eye, he explains.