The importance of using eye and face protection cannot be over-emphasised. These incidents fortunately resulted in no damage but truly highlight why the wearing of eye protection in laboratories across the University is mandatory.

The importance of selecting the correct eye and face protection and the wearing of it cannot be over-emphasised.  Any damage to the eyes from impact or chemicals is likely to be serious and permanent. An injury to the face from corrosive liquid splashes can lead to life-long injuries, illness and disfigurement.  Chemicals that can quickly and easily be washed from the skin, causing little or no damage, will be rapidly absorbed into the Cornea, which in extreme cases, could cause blindness.

The wearing of eye protection in Queen Mary Laboratories is mandatory. See Appendix 2 of the Personal Protective Equipment Policy for more information.

During the cleaning of a piece of lab equipment, bleach was splashed into the eye of a member of staff wearing contact lenses. Contact lenses should not be worn in labs as they can interfere with the blink reflex (which can clear some liquids/particles), can be melted onto the eye by some chemicals and can trap vapour between the eye and the contact lens. In this case, the individual acted swiftly to irrigate the eye with saline and remove the contact lenses before any harm was done.

In another case, a member of staff was changing the bottle in a blood analyser when the feeder tube which sits inside the bottle pinged out, sending a small splash of buffer into their left eye. They had not been wearing safety goggles as it was not routine for this equipment, however that has since changed. Again, the individual immediately washed their eye out with plenty of water for at least 30-60 minutes, opening the eyelids fully. They then went to Moorfields Eye Hospital for the eye to be examined and they found no damage.

For advice and guidance on personal protective equipment, view our PPE webpages or speak to a member of our team.