Coworker was using angle grinder at home under his truck, cutting disk exploded and put four pieces into his eye and he had a real fun time getting them out at the eye surgeon.
Hopefully he will have ok sight in that eye, never a reason not to wear a face shield or eye protection.
Many years ago, late 1960's my dad was helping change a bearing on a screen in the quarry and not sure if it was him or someone else using a hammer. But when the bearing was hit it shattered and a piece went into one of his eyes. Did not loose all vision but never really got back much. People just don't understand how fast something like that can happen!
"It all happened in the blink of an eye." Pardon the pun.....
My grandfather was at sea in the 1940s and cut a cable with a torch. A piece flew up and got in one of his eyes. It got infected and he had to just lay in his bunk for over a week, no antibiotics, of course, and no pain meds on board, either. After a few days, some crewmen brought out an illegal whiskey stash, and they just kept my grandfather, a mild social drinker, so drunk he didn't know where he was for a week. He never touched alcohol after that.
The Mrs. & I were out in my shop the other day doing a WOOD PROJECT she wanted to do.. Build 2 planter boxes.. BIG boxes. The first thing she commented on was:: DAAAM ITS CLEAN IN HERE.!! I said AND IT WILL B THAT WAY BEFORE U LEAVE.!! I picked up the saw after taking 1000 measurements.. and she barks:: STOP.!!! WHERES YOUR SAFETY GLASSES.?? I just hadta laugh.. but she was right.. I didn’t have them on.. BUT.. guess who was the 1 rubbin her eyes.?? (Saw dust)
Good advice, it can't be said enough!! I'll admit when I was young and stupid I rarely wore them but after OSHA training and a few close calls I won't work without them. I've gotten to where I wear them while mowing the lawn, a stray grass clipping can irritate all day. Cheap insurance
Horrible absolutely horrible! The eyes are pretty much the most important thing on our body! Heavy workers should know that better than everyone because of how frequently you hear stories like this! Always wear your PROPER safety glasses. I emphasize the word proper because different work requires different safety levels!
You never know when some thing will happen . I was adjusting the track on a trackhoe ,when I pulled the grease connection off the fitting grease shot out and hit me in the face. Luckily I had my glasses on because they were covered in grease.
Not just eye protection but full face protection when using a cut of saw. A number of years ago on the campus of a major hospital in Eau Claire, WI they found a young plumber deceased in a pipe excavation. He was cutting 8" cast pipe with a Partner saw. The evidence showed that he had been wearing a half face shield. The blade apparently snagged and broke, throwing a big jagged chunk into his throat. He bled out while 3/4 of the way up the bank. OSHA requires the long shields when using any abrasive cutting devices. Not sure if one would have saved him but it may have.
That is a tragic and sad story OIH.
There's a old guy in town who was towing and junking old cars. He was chiseling a wheel bearing or something when a metal shard flew through the sunglasses into his good eye. His other eye was already damaged from health reasons, so that injury effectively made him blind.
I've worn safety glasses every single day on the job since I started 12 years ago. They've saved my eyes more than once. I need to be a little more diligent with the face shield though.
So cheap and available in every tint shade you could ever want, and with built in cheaters available, there is no reason for anyone to not wear them.
Very true. Usually its "well its just sharpening a drill bit, grinder is only going to be on for 5 seconds!"
I nearly always wear mine I use to wear glasses so I almost feel nude with out them. About a week ago I was doing some work up on a tripper at a power plant and they fogged up some I pulled them off a few minutes later I hit spud wrench with a hammer and a chunk hit me on the cheek. Needless to say they went right back on and never came off again
Have all heard my adventure with a 3/4" cold chisel and the old standard glass safety glasses, I wear a shield when should and wear polycarbonate glasses anymore. Got some of the 30+ years loss back with cataract surgery but has not will not ever be 'right'. Is true, only a Blink of an eye, not even a second to lose so much so fast and taken for granted will always have. That night in the shop I will forever remember.
Next door neighbor was hand nailing trim up in his house. 4 d finish nails for some small moulding. Nail kicked out and put a hole in his eye. He came home after several hours of surgery to stitch the eye back together and his little boy came running to see if daddy was OK. When Mike picked him up to give him a hug the stitches tore out.
Wearing eye protection not withstanding the fiber metal cutting disks should never be used in an angle grinder or gas powered rescue saw for the this reason - they can disintegrate. We only use the diamond metal cutting blades, they are slower but last longer and much safer.
Did that happen very long ago ? How is his eye now ?
In my first 9 months in the trade I witnessed a guy take a pressure wash hose off under pressure from the wand. Hose whipped up and tore him open right down the side of his nose. Just caught the edge of his eye and part of the tear duct if I recall it right. Last I heard his vision was severely limited in that eye. That was another re-enforcing point to keep those glasses on whenever at work.
Pressure washers and drilling rigs go hand in hand. If the floorhand isn't tripping pipe, he had better be cleaning something. That said, it's always the guy with the least experience running it and they have to be babysat for a while until they get over that desire to hurt themselves. I've witnessed guys washing their boots while wearing them, trying to take a wand off while pressurized, trying to wash their gloves while wearing them, two greenhats washing each other's boots off, and always, not using the full face shield that they were provided, or wearing it but having the shield in raised position. Everyone you stop them in the act, they look at you like "what? I didn't do anything wrong" We fired one guy in his first day after telling him for the third time not to wash his boots while wearing them.
Scary how invincible some consider themselves to be.
They were able to re stitch it but unfortunately deformed the eyeball causing him to have to wear corrective lenses.
Sad, at least he didn't loose the vision. I am deeply interested in eye injury posts. We all need to be repeatedly reminded of how fragile we are. Especially our eyes. I cannot say too many times that I experienced a punctured eye cutting a cable on a trencher. No eye protection.
I try to wear my safety glasses and full face shield for all grinding operations. We were forced to use them in industrial settings now I'm just used to it. The face shields that wrap slightly under your chin are great. They are more form fitting and help prevent stray pieces of steel from bouncing around the open ends. Only difficult part is not removing my beard look the flip up. Watching Dad get a piece of steel dug out of his eyeball with a large bore needle also helps you remember. Ain't nobody got time for that!
Yes, Many years ago; when I was an underground Coal Miner. I was changing cutting bits; carbide or diamond tip, I can't remember that though. The bits were in the cutting head that cut the coal and rock. The main body of the bits were held in by big snap rings. One snap ring flew out of the snap ring pliers; and hit me directly in the lens of my safety glasses. It was a perfect shot. The lens hazed/shattered ; but stopped the high flying snap ring, from hitting my eye. Oh Yea, I never forgot that. old1
Situational but when cutting, grinding, hammering, doing anything else with a projection hazard or getting under a vehicle? You bet! Mercifully I don't have any eye injury horror stories to share, but can't say the same for hands/fingers.