Foam Gasket vs Near Fitting... Bridging the Gap
There is a silent battle raging in the Alberta Oilsands. The battle of foam gasket vs near fitting safety glasses.
Foam gaskets has become synonymous with superiority of safety glass types because they supposedly provide advanced level of protection for dust and particulates by creating a "seal" around the eyes.
However, stats at my new facility are finding workers are finding that foam gasket glasses fog way more readily than near fitting, are more uncomfortable overall, and we are still seeing debris in eye incidents during use. MY personal experience is fogging, and that the gasket doesn't actually seal around the eyes any better than a acclaimed "near fitting" eyewear.
So my question to you all is. Do your facilities require foam gasket eyewear?
Comments (3)
We don't require it, but the fogging up is all based on the type of coating on your eyewear - either hydrophilic or hydrophobic. Below is a link where HexArmor actually explains it pretty well.
https://www.hexarmor.com/posts/hydrophilic-vs-hydrophobic-lens-coatings-what-s-the-difference
We don't require any anti-dogging glasses (only standard safety glasses), but I do like those foam gaskets!
Wow, you learn something every day! Never knew about foam gasket glasses / near fitting. In my foundry days we required ANSI safety glasses "with full-cup side shields' as opposed to just "side shields." I sure did not know anything about hydrophilic or hydrophobic glasses! I would guess working in a green (really black as to color) sand ferrous foundry and an oil sand environment are very similar! I really remember it was very hard for me, as I cannot wear contacts as I cannot allow anything close to my eyes and to have the nurse roll around a que-tip around my eyes to get the sand out was almost unbearable!! As a supervisor I had to go around and do a pencil test on all my employees. If I could get the pencil lead between an employee's cheek and side shields I had to send that employee to the nurse to get their glasses adjusted so that the side shields fit tight against the cheek. We did not permit regular side shields in the foundry/plant.
I was required to wear goggles over my street glasses until my Rx glasses came in! For three weeks I struggled with the goggles as they instantly fogged up in the hot moisture laden foundry environment (from the green sand that is beach sand, charcoal, and water "mulled together, not quite mud but close).
I sure wish in 1976 we had "hydrophobic" googles!