Volume 1 Issue 3 (Fall 1997)

Inside this issue:

Some statistics.
A success story: The Built-Rite alliance.
Fact sheet on eye injuries: in english or en espanol
The costs of an injury versus protection.
Straight from the workers' mouth.

Some numbers.

ON THE JOB is a newsletter published by the Department of Environmental-Occupational Health at the George Washington University. Each newsletter contains brief articles on topics related to worker safety and health .

Since 1993, we have been interviewing construction workers about their job-related injuries in order to understand how they get injured, which injuries are the most common, and how to prevent them from occurring.

Since 1990, 276 construction workers have been treated at the George Washington University Emergency Department for eye injuries...

**WHO is getting injured ?**

**Table 1. Percent of eye injuries, by trade.**
Trade	Percent of Eye Injuries	Percent Overall Injuries
Electricians	17%	13%
Laborers	15%	21%
Carpenters	14%	20%
Pipefitters	10%	5%
Other trades	44%	41%

**HOW are workers getting injured?**

**Table 2. Percent of eye injuries (by circumstances)**
Circumstances	Percent of Eye Injuries
Working With Concrete	20%
Struck In Eye	16%
Using Power Tools	13%
Splash	13%
Working Overhead	8%
Other	30%

BUILT-RITE Program cuts Eye Injuries by 77%.

Built-Rite is an alliance of construction unions, contractors, and owners in the Philadelphia area working to improve safety in petrochemical plant construction. We interviewed James Martin, Built-Rite Director, and this is what he had to say.

Why did you focus so much attention on eye injuries?

We found 45% of our serious injuries in 1990 and 1991 to be eye injuries. We did an analysis of injuries and we found eye injuries were a serious problem in petrochemical construction work because workers do a lot of welding and grinding in closed spaces.

What did you do next?

We put together focus groups with craftsmen, safety coordinators, and building trade people, to evaluate why the injuries were occuring and how to reduce eye injuries.

What steps did you take to implement a program to reduce eye injuries?

We did a number of things. First of all, we brought an optical company on site during work hours to fit the workers for prescription safety glasses, which the workers bought (and used). Then, we got owners to wet-wash and vacuum vessels before other work began, to reduce grit and fumes. We put eye-wash stations next to work areas, and in most cases a first-aid station on site.

What were the results?

Over the next 2 years, there were only 4 (compared to 18 before) eye injuries, which is a decline of 77%. Also there have been no OSHA recordable eye injuries.

Straight from the workers' mouth...

"I should have had eye protection on."

"I tried to wash my eye out in the bathroom, but it didn't work so I went to the Emergency Room."

"I didn't even know that we had an eye wash station on our site."

"I wasn't even the one using the power tools."

"I was blinded for 3 days, then I could see."

"I was just shutting a valve off over my head, when the metal flew in."

"I was using a jigsaw cutting a piece of wood, when something flew into my eye."

CONSIDER THIS...

Mr. X works as a mason in the DC area. He has worked for ABC Cement for 8 years and spends most of his days laying, spreading, and finishing concrete. One day, while he was scoring a block of cement, a chip of loose cement was sent flying up into his face.

Mr. X wasn't wearing any eye protection. He sometimes wore glasses, but they were in the bottom of his bag in the safety trailer. Anyway, he figured that it was a routine job that wouldn't take long. Unfortunately, that chip of concrete entered his right eye and punctured his cornea. Some milky fluid dribbled down his face and it hurt a lot. It looked awful, and worse, he couldn't see out of it.

His buddy drove him to the hospital right away where he spent over an hour waiting to see a doctor. They said that the damage was pretty bad because the chip was lodged in his eye. They said that he might lose his sight. And that he might need surgery ($1200).

The doctor flushed it out, patched it, and gave him a prescription for pain killers ($30). Altogether, the hospital visit cost $200 and he missed the rest of the day at work (6hrs @ $15/hr). The doctor told him to rest his eyes and to "take it easy" for a week. He'd have to flush his eye and change the patch for the next three months.

He talked to his foreman about doing light duty, but he was told that the job had to be finished, and if he couldn't do it, then they would have to find somebody who could. That night, he just sat with both eyes shut because it was uncomfortable to keep one open. He was worried that he'd lost not only his job, but his sight in one eye. And who would want to hire him now?

Not all eye injuries are this serious. But they can be. Had Mr. X been wearing eye protection, he wouldn't have noticed that concrete chip. The only cost for him (or his employer) would have been the $7.50 for a decent pair of goggles. And the only inconvenience would have been to wear them.

PROTECTIVE EYE WEAR IS NOT THE LAW.

THE CHOICE IS YOURS.

FACT SHEET.

Eye injuries

Esta documento esta tambien disponible en espanol.

Approximately 2.4 MILLION eye injuries occur annually in the United States. Of these injuries, approximately 45,000 are serious vision-threatening injuries requiring HOSPITALIZATION.
Studies have shown that MORE THAN HALF OF THE EYE INJURIES that came into the emergency room were WORK-RELATED.
DUST (metal, wood, concrete) that is travelling at high speeds causes the most eye injuries. Using power tools and looking up to do overhead work is the most common cause of eye injuries.
Workers with eye injuries are typically YOUNG ADULT MEN who are in the most PRODUCTIVE YEARS of their life.
Studies have shown that the MAJORITY OF WORKERS with eye injuries WERE NOT WEARING EYE PROTECTION at the time of the accident.
Safety glasses are an essential element of injury prevention. WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WITH SIDE SHIELDS when operating power tools, working overhead, and working in and around dusty environments.
Do you have EYE WASH SOLUTION in your TOOLBOX?
Do you know where the closest EYE WASH STATION is?

SAFETY GLASSES ARE CHEAP!

EYE INJURIES ARE EXPENSIVE!

HOJA DE DATOS.

Lesiones de los ojos en los centros de trabajo.

This document is also available in ingles.

Aproximademente 2.4 MILLIONES de lesiones en los ojos ocurren anualmente en los Estados Unidos. De estas lesiones, aproximademente 45,000 son lesiones que amenazan seriamente la vision que requieren HOSPITALIZACION.
Los estudios nos han demostrado que MAS DE LA MITAD DE LAS LESIONES EN LOS OJOS, y que fueron atendidos en la sala de emergencia, fueron RELACIONADOS CON EL TRABAJO.
Los trabajadores afectados con lesiones en sus ojos son tipicamente HOMBRES ADULTOS JOVENES quienes estan en la etapa MAS PRODUCTIVA de su vida.
Los estudios han mostrado que la MAYORIA DE LOS TRABAJADORES con lesiones en sus ojos no estaban usando sus ANTEOJOS DE SEGURIDAD al momento del accidente.
Los anteojos de seguridad son elementos esenciales en la prevencion de lesiones. USEN ANTEOJOS DE SEGURIDAD CON PROTECCION A LOS LADOS cuando se encuentran operando herramientas electricas, trabajando en areas encima de usted mismo y cuando trabajan en ambientes polvosos.
?Tiene usted una SOLUCION DE PRIMEROS AUXILIOS PARA SUS OJOS ensu CAJA DE HERRAMIENTAS?
?Sabe usted donde esta la mas cercana ESTACION DE ENJUAGUE DE OJOS?

! LOS ANTEOJOS DE SEGURIDAD SON BARATOS !

! LAS LESIONES DE OJOS SON COSTOSO!