Know the best practices for emergency safety equipment compliance

Proper placement of emergency safety equipment is determined by OSHA regulations, industry guidelines and insurance requirements.

Safety insights

• Industry guidelines and national standards define how and where safety equipment must appear in a facility.
• Beyond installation, facilities must ensure accessibility, compliance with ANSI standards and regular maintenance to maximize effectiveness in hazardous situations.

Who determines where emergency safety equipment should be installed? The answer lies in a combination of regulatory requirements and industry-specific guidelines.

Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) 1910.151(c) mandates that an employer must provide suitable protection for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body when employees are exposed to injurious materials. To identify these critical locations, facilities must evaluate their processes for potential injury risks and to enhance workplace safety.

In addition to OSHA, the insurance company covering the facility and Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) health care guidelines will also dictate where emergency equipment shall be installed. For instance, FGI requires an eyewash and deluge shower be installed in autopsy rooms when formaldehyde is used.

After the locations have been determined, OSHA and the International Plumbing Code will require that ANSI Standard Z358.1-2014 be followed.

Safety system design considerations

There are several safety design considerations that must be looked at in every facility.

Location:

• Must be accessible within 10 seconds of hazard, typically 55 feet.
• Must be on the same level as the hazard. The path of travel must be free of obstruction. A step-up into an enclosed unit shall not be considered an obstruction.
• Must be well-lit and identified with a highly visible sign.

Delivery:

• Temperature of water must be tepid, typically between 60°F and 100°F. Additional considerations must be made when using acids and chemicals such as carbolic acid, sulfuric acid and some metal compounds.
• Required flow:
• Showers: 20 gallons per minute (gpm) for 15 minutes. Combination showers and eye/face wash units must account for simultaneous use of both the shower and the eye/face wash.
• Eyewash: 0.4 gpm for 15 minutes.
• Eye/face wash: 3.0 gpm for 15 minutes
• Water supply lines must provide a flow rate of between 30 to 90 pounds per square inch.
  • Line size of 0.5 inches for eyewash and eye/face wash units.
  • Drench shower units should have a 1-inch line size.
  • Combination units should have 1.25-inch line size.
• Tepid water mains must be recirculated per the plumbing code fixture requirements.
  • Plumbed units fed via a stand-alone mixing valve shall not be recirculated.
  • Multiple units may be fed from a single tepid water loop.
    • The loop may be sized for one user if there are less than six units on a loop.
    • If there are six units or more on a single loop, they should be sized for at least two simultaneous users, unless the hazard(s) warrant additional users at any given time.

Activation and testing:

• Activate plumbed units at least weekly.
• Hands-free activation and remains open.
• Must allow the ability to perform prescribed testing easily.

Portable and self-contained eyewash units (not plumbed) may be used in lieu of a plumbed unit, but only if they are able to provide 15 minutes of flushing liquid. Each unit must be visually inspected in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions on a weekly basis to determine the condition of fluid — whether it needs to be changed or added.

For units using a bacteriostatic additive, the water should be changed at least every three months. If not using the additive, the device will require the water to be changed during the weekly inspection.

It is important to note that personal wash units (bottled eyewash, single head-drench hose, etc.) are to be considered as supplemental equipment and should not be used to take the place of a 15-minute flushing unit.

Meeting the safety standards

Emergency equipment is an essential part of working in a safe environment, but proper installation to ANSI standards alone does not ensure it will be used effectively in an emergency. Facilities must go beyond installation to ensure that there is proper training, testing, accessibility, visibility and functionality of the emergency fixtures to minimize injuries to affected personnel during a hazardous event.

To further minimize risks, an annual third-party inspection should be performed annually, which provides an added measure of credibility and assurance of the review process.