Emergency Eyewash Stations Required to Use Sterile Solution

New Rules Expected Soon for Eyewash Stations

Sterile solution reduces infection risk

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon require that all emergency eyewash stations use a sterile solution to help prevent infection. Along with pain and suffering, eye injuries are estimated to cost more than $300 million per year in lost production, medical expenses and workers' compensation.

Unfortunately, additional damage may be caused when the worker flushes his or her eyes because some eyewash stations are simply not adequate; for example, those that rely on tap water for flushing. Though tap water is generally OK to drink, it does contain various irritants and contaminants.

A survey by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental research and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., found 141 unregulated chemicals in workplace tap water and an additional 119 for which the Environmental Protection Agency has set health-based limits. More recent tap water tests indicate the presence pf pharmaceutical contaminants. Flushing these harmful elements into an already damaged eye can cause serious secondary injury and possible vision loss. Although sealed-cartridge devices are better than tap water treatment of workplace eye injuries, many sealed-cartridge units do not offer a 100 percent sterile solution.

Recent research has proven that sterile emergency eyewash solution delivers several important benefits:

Sterile solution offers unmatched safety.
When compared to tap water, sterile solution offers the best protection from contaminants and bacteria that could lead to secondary trauma to an injured eye.
Sterile solution reduces the risk of potential liability if eye injury from flushing with contaminated water occurs.

For those reasons, the FDA plans to soon enforce regulations on the use of sterile solutions in portable emergency eyewash. The new rules are expected to apply to primary eyewash stations (which have the fluid capacity to flush both eyes and deliver that flushing fluid at the required rate of 0.4 gallons per minute for 15 minutes) as well as secondary eyewash units (self-containedunits that deliver immediate flushing fluids).

Sources
Fendall, Inc., 2007 white paper

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