Flushing Out the Facts on the Emergency Eye Wash Station

Last edited: 2023-01-27

Employees must be trained on the location and proper use of an emergency eye wash station and/or shower.

Recent OSHA statistics show that only 12% of workplaces inspected are in full compliance with the law regarding emergency eye wash stations and showers.

Every jobsite needs to consider having an eye wash station on hand, whether it's a portable, personal, plumbed, or faucet. In this article, we will discuss eye face wash best practices and how you can insure eye safety for your employees.

What can I do to prepare for an eye-related emergency?

Prevention is the key to eye safety. The first line of defense is proper eye/face protection products coupled with equipment guards, emergency controls and manufacturing procedures.

Employees must be trained on the location and proper use of all emergency eye wash stations and showers.
Emergency eye wash stations and showers must be regularly maintained, including weekly activation of all plumbed units.
Emergency eye wash stations and showers must be inspected at least yearly for compliance with the ANSI standard.

What is the current OSHA standard for emergency eyewash stations and showers?

ANSI Z358.1-2014 is the most current ANSI standard and is required by OSHA for all new additions to an emergency wash program. OSHA references the ANSI standard during site inspections and violation reporting.

Key points of the ANSI standard include:

Emergency eye wash stations and showers should be designed, manufactured and installed in such a manner that, once activated, they can be used without requiring the use of the operator's hands.
The valve must easily activate in a second or less and remain open on its own until it is intentionally turned off and must be resistant to corrosion.
All eye wash stations must be capable of delivering a minimum of 15 minutes of flushing fluid and flow at the minimum gallon per minute requirement.
Plumbed eye wash stations should be activated weekly to ensure proper flow. The duration should be long enough to clear stagnant water from any dead leg length of piping.
Self-contained eye wash stations must be visually checked weekly to determine if flushing fluid needs to be changed or supplemented. Such inspection should be conducted in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Change the water as required and use a bacteria-fighting additive.
Eye wash stations must be placed within 55' of work stations or take no more than 10 seconds to reach. The path to the fixture must not be hindered with obstructions.
Emergency eye wash stations and showers stations must be installed in well-lit areas and identified with a highly visible safety sign.
The temperature range for water delivered to all eye wash stations and shower units must be between 60 - 100 degrees Fahrenheit. A temperature around 85 degrees Fahrenheit offers the most comfort to the user.
An eye/face and shower wash combination unit should deliver an adequate simultaneous flushing stream for both the shower and eyewash when activated and should flow at a minimum of 20 gallons per minute.

Related: There is also an ANSI standard for protecting your eyes from debris. Read our full article on ANSI eye protection and about some of our recommended ANSI-approved safety glasses now.

What are the categories of emergency eye wash stations available at Wesco?

Personal Eye Washes

These are bottles of eyewash that range in size from 1-32 ounces.
They are designed to supplement (not replace) a permanent eye wash station.
Use them as a first response measure during transit to ANSI-compliant eyewash station.
They are not ANSI or OSHA compliant.

Portable Gravity-Fed Eye Wash Stations

These standalone units contain a flushing fluid that must be refilled or replaced after use.
Some stations come with a bag or cartridge of manufacturer-prepared solution that will last two years. This is the preferred method from both a cost-savings and hygiene standpoint.
Other stations are filled with tap water and then an additive/preservative that is added every 2-6 months. If a preservative is not used, the tap water must be changed weekly to prevent bacteria build-up.

Plumbed Eye Wash Stations

Plumbed eyewash stations are permanently connected to a continual water source that delivers plumbed tap water to the eyes.
The advantage of a plumbed eye wash station is that you never need to change the flushing fluid.
These units require weekly activation as part of routine maintenance to prevent bacteria build-up.

Faucet Mount Eye Wash Stations

These units feature an adaptor that simply screws on to most standard faucets.
It transforms your standard sink faucet into an emergency eye wash station.

Emergency Showers

Emergency showers are required when there is the possibility of a corrosive to be deluged on your body, as opposed to a minor splash.

Feel free to contact our Safety Support Team to help you select the correct emergency eye wash station and/or shower for your particular workplace. We can offer you options that best fit your budget or specific needs, allowing your employees to work safely and efficiently.

Care Guide

This care sheet provides general information only for handling Carolina™ bacterial cultures. When you work with bacteria, it is imperative that you use sterile techniques at all times. Failing to use sterile techniques can contaminate cultures and work areas, and cause health and safety risks. See our Carolina™ Techniques for Studying Bacteria and Fungi Manual (item #154664) for descriptions of sterile techniques and standard practices for handling bacterial cultures.

Immediate care and handling

When your bacterial cultures arrive, immediately open the shipping container and remove the cultures. We ship cultures in tubes, plates, and as MicroKwik Culture™ freeze-dried cells. Visually inspect each culture. Ensure that tubes are intact with caps securely in place, plates have no cracks and lids are secured by tape, and plastic bags containing MicroKwik Culture™ cells are securely closed with the enclosed tube and vial intact.

You must seal any culture damaged during shipment—and anything it contaminated—in an autoclavable bag, and then sterilize it by autoclaving or soaking all contaminated materials in disinfectant. Note: Never discard a damaged, unsterilized culture in the trash. Know and follow your school or district's guidelines for proper disposal. Contact our Customer Service at 800.334.5551 for a replacement of your damaged culture. It will help to have your order number available when you call.

Hold most cultures at room temperature, 20 to 22° C (68 to 73° F). For tube cultures, loosen the cap and keep the culture tube upright in a test tube rack or beaker. For best results, use cultures within 3 to 5 days of receipt; however, most bacterial cultures remain usable for up to 4 weeks when held at room temperature.

Keep in mind that Carolina provides a variety of bacterial cultures and some have very specific care and handling needs that differ from these general guidelines. Vibrio fischeri, for example, must be kept in the dark and subcultured 2 to 3 times per week to maintain bioluminescence.

Maintaining and culturing

Eventually your bacterial culture will deplete the nutrients of the medium in or on which it is growing and will need subculturing. Before working with bacterial cultures, wash your hands with soap and water, ensure that the work area is draft free, and wipe the work surface with 70% alcohol or similar disinfectant. Note: Always check the culture for signs of contamination immediately prior to using. Never work in an area where food is prepared or consumed.

Transfer broth cultures to fresh broth using a sterile pipet or loop or streak onto agar using a sterile inoculating loop. For faster growth, you can incubate most cultures at 25 to 30° C (77 to 86° F). After making the transfers, clean the work area with disinfectant and wash your hands again. Either autoclave the old stock cultures and glassware, or cover them with disinfectant overnight. We recommend the use of Clavies™ Autoclavable Bags (item #831642) for disposal.

Biosafety

In the US the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) sets standards for the safe handling of microorganisms according to their Biosafety Level (BSL). There are 4 Biosafety Levels with BSL-1 being the lowest risk microorganisms and BSL-4 being the highest risk. Bacterial cultures provided by Carolina Biological Supply Company fall into BSL-1 and BSL-2. Our catalog and online listings identify BSL-2 bacterial cultures as pathogens. They are only available as MicroKwik Culture™ freeze-dried cells, and we can only ship them to colleges and universities. Cultures not identified in our listings as pathogens are BSL-1.

The CDC standards for working with BSL-1 microorganisms include the following:

Follow all standard microbiological practices.
Work can be performed on an open lab bench or table.
Wear personal protective equipment (PPE), i.e., lab coats, gloves, and eye protection, as needed.
A sink for hand washing.
Doors that separate the lab room from the rest of the facility.

For working with BLS-2 microorganisms the CDC recommends all of the above, plus the following:

Restricted access to the lab room while cultures are being used.
PPE to include face shields as needed.
All procedures that can produce a splash or an aerosol must be performed within a biological safety cabinet.
An autoclave or other method of decontamination for proper disposal.
Self-closing doors that separate the lab room from the rest of the facility.
An eyewash station.

For a fuller discussion of CDC criteria for handling microorganisms see the following link: http://www.cdc.gov/biosafety/publications/bmbl5/bmbl5_sect_iv.pdf.

FAQs

Which agar should I use for my bacterial cultures?

In Carolina's print and online catalogs, the product descriptions for our bacterial cultures include the type of nutrient medium that we use for each culture. This information also appears on the label affixed to the culture. A wide range of bacteria will grow on Nutrient Agar (item #821862) and Tryptic Soy Agar (item #822022).

Can I pour my own plates if I don't have an autoclave?

See our Nutrient Agar Bottle (item #776360) and other prepared media bottles. A bottle containing 125 mL of medium will pour 4 to 5 standard 100 × 15-mm plates. Watch our “How to Melt and Pour Agar Plates” video (at www.carolina.com) for a demonstration of the technique.

Should I order a tube, plate, or MicroKwik Culture™?

Tube cultures are best for stock. A tube culture is often streaked on a plate and incubated before lab use. Order a plate culture for convenience and immediate use. You can receive a plate culture and use it in a lab on the same day. A MicroKwik Culture™ is best used for longer-term storage and to receive a culture of a pathogen. A MicroKwik Culture™ can be held at room temperature for up to 2 months before being activated or for 6 to 8 months refrigerated.

Which cultures should I order for antibiotic testing?

Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria often give different results when tested against the same antibiotic. For that reason, we recommend testing against Bacillus cereus (item #154872), which is Gram-positive, and Escherichia coli (item #155068), which is Gram-negative. We recommend broth cultures because this makes it easier to spread the culture over the surface of an agar plate. See our Carolina BioKits™: Antibiotic Sensitivity kit (item #154740) for more information.

You recommend holding a culture at room temperature, but the recommended temperature for Escherichia coli (item #155065) is given in your catalog as 37° C. Why is that?

Thirty-seven degrees C is the incubation temperature, the temperature needed for maximum culture growth. The culture is mature when we ship it out and does not need further incubation. Maintaining the culture at room temperature allows you to hold it longer before use.