Protective Clothing Series | Eye Protection
Personal Protective Equipment is paramount when it comes to eye protection. Eye protection should be worn when a potential risk to your eyes has been identified in your workplace. Risk to your eyes is common in many industries, particularly those of you who work in construction, manufacturing, automotive and healthcare. A large percentage of eye injuries that happen in the workplace could be prevented if you are wearing the correct protective eye wear.
“Construction has a much higher rate of eye injuries than any other industry”
Source: https://www.cpwr.com/publications/eye-injuries/
EN 166
EN 166 is the European technical standard that all safety eye protection must comply with. The main tests that safety glasses undergo in this standard are Optical Requirements and Impact Resistance/Mechanical Protection. There are some optional tests that EN 166 may include: Protection against High Speed Objects and Protection against Extreme Temperatures (ranging from -5°c to +55°c).
The results of these tests then define the optical class and mechanical protection rating that the eye protection will receive.
|
Optical Tolerance Power |
Optical Class |
Application |
|
± 0.06 Dioptres |
1 |
Distortion Free - Work all the time |
|
± 0.12 Dioptres |
2 |
Medium Quality - Work occasionally |
|
± 0.25 Dioptres |
3 |
Work Briefly – Exceptional use |
Dioptre = a unit of measurement of the optical power of a lens
|
Marking |
Mechanical Protection |
|
S |
Minimal Impact Resistance |
|
F |
Low Energy Impact |
|
B |
Medium Energy Impact |
|
A |
High Energy Impact |
When shopping for protective eye wear, make sure to check that they are compliant with EN 166 and that the protection they provide is sufficient for the working environment you are in. If you are unsure, don’t hesitate to drop us a message and we will do our best to assist you.
Explore a selection of our safety glasses below:
1. Portwest PW38 Safety Glasses Clear
+ Complies to EN166 1F
+ CE certified
+ Lightweight and comfortable to wear for long periods
+ Anti-scratch
+Anti-fog
+ 99% UV protection
+ Pan-view spectacle
Available in clear and smoked lenses.
2. Beeswift B-Brand Premium Googles
+ Conforms to EN 166 1B
+ Unvented
+ Wide vision lens
+ Soft & flexible
+ Adjustable headband
+ Available in blue and orange
+ 2-1.2 - UV Filter
3. JSP Martcare Impact Goggles
+ Conforms to EN 166 1B
+ Compact and lightweight
+ Vented
+ Tough Polycarbonate lens offers high resistance to impact from flying particles
+ Adjustable elastic strap
4. Blackrock Clear Safety Glasses
+ Complies with EN 166
+ Anti-scratch polycarbonate lens
+ Versatile and suitable for everyday use
+ Lightweight
+ Cost effective
5. Portwest PW98 Forestry Combi Kit
+ CE certified
+ Provides head, ear and eye protection
+ Vented hard hat
+ Reinforced visor holder and mesh visor (PS58)
For some industries, lenses in eye protection are not practical. In these cases, the product may not be EN 166 compliant.
To explore more eye protection, check out our full website here.
Any questions? Just drop us a message over on our social pages below. We're always happy to help.
If you purchase any of these items, we would love for you to tag us on social media in your photos of you wearing them! You'll find us on Instagram and Facebook - or just search @prosafedirect!
Thanks for reading!
