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5.5 Emergency Eyewash and Showers

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5.5 Emergency Eyewashes and Safety Showers

Emergency eyewashes and safety showers are critical engineering controls intended to reduce injury severity following chemical splashes, spills, or exposures. Laboratories using hazardous chemicals—especially corrosives, toxics, or materials capable of causing eye or skin injury—must have ready access to appropriate emergency eyewash and/or shower equipment.

Emergency eyewashes and showers are required by OSHA under 29 CFR 1910.151 – Medical Services and First Aid. Additional expectations for performance, location, accessibility, and maintenance are described in ANSI/ISEA Z358.1.

Emergency eyewashes and showers must be readily accessible, clearly identified, and free of obstructions. As a general rule, equipment should be reachable within approximately 10 seconds from the hazard. Units must deliver sufficient flow of tepid water for continuous flushing to support effective decontamination.

Handheld squeeze bottles or personal eyewash bottles do not qualify as approved emergency eyewashes and must not be used as a substitute for plumbed equipment. They may be used only as a supplemental measure when plumbed equipment is also available.
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