How to properly protect the face and eyes?

How to properly protect the face and eyes?

Many professionals ask themselves how to properly protect the face and eyes. Eye and face protection measures are designed to quickly prevent damage caused by mechanical, chemical, biological, thermal and harmful radiation factors. Their main task is to protect against impacts, hence they are called anti-spatter lenses and their protection, anti-spatter goggles, glasses or face shields with diametrically different shapes. If the glass has filtration properties, it can be classified as a filter. If you too want to learn how to properly protect your face and eyes, read our article and then choose the products that are right for you!

What type of face shield should you choose?

Eye and face protection equipment can be divided according to their design or purpose. In terms of the different structure of the equipment, we distinguish:

• Safety glasses - glasses made of unbreakable glass or plastic should have side shields and covers protecting against the ingress of solids from the front side. Transparent lenses are designed to protect against splashes of solids or liquids, while tinted lenses protect against ultraviolet and infrared radiation and against bright light.
• Protective goggles - they have better protective properties than glasses, they adhere more closely to the face around the eyes and are mostly equipped with a direct or indirect ventilation system.
• Face shields - made of plastic or metal mesh, they are adapted to work in various environments and mounted on a self-supporting head harness or on a protective helmet.
• Welding helmets - consist of a body, a frame for a glass and a filter. They protect against sparks and spatter as well as harmful radiation emitted during welding. Depending on the degree of darkening of the filter, helmets can be properly selected depending on the type and intensity of welding.
• Welding shields - are held by the worker in the hand during welding. They protect the eyes, face and neck. They consist of a body, a frame for a glass, a filter and a handle. Replaceable filters allow the use of a darkening degree appropriate to the type and intensity of welding.
• Hoods - in addition to protecting the eyes and face, they provide protection for the head and neck.

What do eye and face shields protect against?

Due to their intended use, protective equipment can be divided into:

• Protection against chemical factors - goggles (should have indirect ventilation) and face shields protecting against chemical agents and dust.
• Protection against biological factors - goggles and face shields protecting against biological factors, such as steam, liquids, aerosols. The equipment should have the same design as that used for protection against chemical agents.
• Protecting against thermal factors - it is used mainly in metallurgy, during gas welding and related techniques, during electric welding or plasma cutting, during firefighting and is used to protect against hot splashes of solids, splashes of molten metals, intense heat radiation and against short-term contact with flame.
• Protection against mechanical factors - shields that protect the face and eyes against splashes of solids and impacts. All glasses, goggles and face shields protecting against splashes of solids must comply with the PN-EN168: 2005 and PN-EN166: 2005 standards. This equipment, due to its durability, is divided into four levels of protection:

1. 1st level: (increased impact energy) - resistance to being hit by a 22 g steel ball at a speed of 5.1 m / s; intended for continuous use,
2. 2nd level: (low impact energy) - resistance to an impact with a steel ball, weight 0.86 g, speed 45 m / s,
3. 3rd level: (average impact energy) - resistance to an impact with a steel ball, weight 0.86 g, speed 120 m / s; intended for short-term use,
4. 4th level: (high impact energy) - resistance to an impact with a steel ball, weight 0.86 g, speed 190 m / s.

• Protection against optical radiation - equipment protecting against ultraviolet, against infrared, against radiation emitted during welding, against laser radiation, equipment protecting against glare from the sun.
• Protecting against electric short-circuit arcs - we use shields here to protect the entire face, but remember that the minimum height of the glass should be 150 mm, thickness at least 1.2 mm and should provide protection against at least low energy impact and radiation ultraviolet (marked 3-1,2).
• Intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres - use of personal protective equipment made of anti-electrostatic materials.

Markings on face and eye shields

In a situation where the frame and the protective glass are one unit, the marking is only placed on the frame, otherwise the frames and the glass should be marked separately.

Luminaire marking must include: manufacturer's identification number, standard number (EN166), symbols of mechanical strength, symbols of application areas, "CE" marking (confirming compliance with relevant European standards).

Mechanical strength symbols:

• S - increased impact energy,
• F - low impact energy,
• B - average impact energy,
• A - high impact energy,
• None - minimal impact resistance, no assessment of the degree of protection.

Application area symbols:

• 3 - protection against liquids (in the form of drops or splashes),
• 4 - protection against coarse dust particles (larger than 5 µm),
• 5 - protection against gases and fine dust particles (vapors, mists, fumes and dust with a particle size of less than 5 µm),
• 8 - protection against an arc during an electric short circuit,
• 9 - protection against molten metal and the penetration of hot solids,

Lack of general use - mechanical hazards and hazards caused by ultraviolet, infrared, solar and visible radiation not specified.

The marking of the lenses must include: the manufacturer's identification number, the code number of the filter and the degree of protection, the optical class, symbols of mechanical strength, symbols of additional protective features.

The transmission coefficient of the protective optical filter is described by a marking consisting of a combination of a code number (from 2 to 6) and a degree of protection (shade) up to 1.2 to 16. Marking of welding filters does not have a code number, but only a degree of protection (shade) - 23 degrees in the range from 1.2 to 16. for example, the marking "6-3.1" - it is a filter that protects against solar glare with the requirements for infrared, with a protection degree of "3.1".

Filter code number:

• 2 - filter protecting against ultraviolet (UV),
• 3 - filter protecting against ultraviolet (UV),
• 4 - filter protecting against infrared (IR),
• 5 - sun glare filter without infrared requirements,
• 6 - sun glare filter with requirements for infrared,
• none - the lens does not play a filtering role (does not apply to welding filters).

Optical class symbols:

• 1 - +/- 0.06 diopters - for continuous operation,
• 2 - +/- 0.12 diopters - irregular work, with breaks,
• 3 - +/- 0.25 diopters - infrequent work (not suitable for long use).

Mechanical strength symbols:

• S - increased impact energy
• F - low impact energy (applicable to all eye protection)
• B - average impact energy (used only for goggles and face shields)
• A - high impact energy (used only for face shields)
• None - minimal impact resistance, no assessment of the degree of protection.

Symbols of additional protective features:

• K - resistance to surface damage by fine dust particles,
• N - resistance to fogging (fogging),
• R - increased light reflectance,
• 8 - protection against an arc during an electric short circuit,
• 9 - protection against molten metal and the penetration of hot solids,
• None - no additional protection features mentioned above.

Marking of filters protecting against laser radiation

The laser protection filters are marked differently from the other filters. There are 10 markings of filters protecting against laser radiation (from L1 to L10) and 5 markings of laser filters and their fittings used for work in the alignment of lasers and laser systems (from R1 to R5). The basis for their determination is the power density and the radiation energy density of continuous, pulsed, Q-modulated and mode-synchronized lasers.

Marking mesh eye and face protection

Mesh face shields designed to protect against intense heat radiation are additionally marked with the symbol "G".

Marking of welding shields and helmets

The marking of welding shields should include: the manufacturer's symbol, the number of the standard the requirements of which the product meets (EN 175), and the symbol "W" (only if the shields retain their dimensions after immersion in water)

The designation of welding helmets should include: the manufacturer's symbol, the number of the standard the requirements of which the product meets, the symbol of resistance to impact by high-speed particles, the symbol "8" (only in the case of a shield protecting against electric short-circuit arcs).

You already know how to properly protect your face and eyes. See also our assortment in the head and face protection category and choose products for yourself!