Protective Equipment
Summary:
Reviewing numerous laser accident conditions has shown that having laser eyewear
is not the major problem. The major problem is having the laser personnel wear
available eyewear.
How does one reinforce the wearing safety eyewear? In any Class IV laser environment
the use of eye protection should be a procedural requirement. If laser protective
eyewear has been deemed as mandatory for a given procedure, then laser eyewear
must be on before the laser can be turned on.
The person who has specific laser safety responsibility of turning on the laser
and making sure all the safety features are operational during the process must
also be responsible for proper laser eye protection.
One positive aspect that comes from a frequent evaluation of a laser safety
program is keeping the level of hazard awareness so high that the personnel wear
protective eyewear automatically.
The eyewear selection process first requires basic laser parameter understanding
and some fundamental mathematical skills. The decision process is then reduced
to an interrelated combination of task analysis, economics and vendor choice.
