If your safety showers are not maintained and winterized, you are playing a cruel trick on your employees. They trust you to keep them safe while they handle chemicals and contaminants on the job. One of your showers may mean the difference between health and serious injury.
In cold weather conditions, there is another concern: your safety showers and eyewash stations are vulnerable to the effects of cold temperatures. Even indoor showers are at risk because the water supply pipes could freeze up. The units themselves may be in good working order, but without sufficient water pressure, theymay not perform up to standard or at all.
Safety servicing and winterization should be done at least annually. This includes inspection and a compliance assessment for every on-site safety shower, eyewash station and, of course, the pipes supplying the water.
What is your Winterization Plan?
A winterization plan that includes annual servicing will prevent downtime and costly repair bills. It will also provide peace of mind for both you and your workers. You will have confidence, that the showers and eyewashes will operate perfectly when an emergency arises.
Your plan should include a comprehensive report on the operation, weekly inspection/testing and periodic servicing of the showers in accordance with ANSI Z358.1-2014. Be sure to record shower flow rates and water temperatures for each location. This report is critical because it is proof that you are keeping up with the international standards and health and safety requirements for maintenance and testing.
One major requirement in this report ensures that safety eyewashes and showers supply clean, potable water and are in proper working order. You will need to verify that the water flow is continuous. Confirm that the unit can maintain flow for a minimum of 15 minutes at 20 gpm for the shower and .4 gpm for the eyewash simultaneously, and that the flow is not forceful enough to injure the worker’s eyes or face. Valve actuators must activate water flow within one second or less of being turned on and be hands-free. Lastly, the controlled flow of flushing fluid must be able to handle both eyes simultaneously.
Note that exposed pipework is now under new recommended winterizing standards. The older guidelines are no longer adequate. This means that you may need to re-locate the shower unit, freeze-protect the pipework or both.
Requirement for Tepid Water
If the water in the shower and eyewash is uncomfortably hot or too cold, you are going to have a difficult time ensuring that your workers use them for the full recommended 15 minutes. Skimping on minutes in a safety shower or eyewash creates risk that the contaminants are not thoroughly washed off. ANSI Z358.1 (2014) recommends that safety shower and eyewash water be between 60°F (15.6°C) and 100°F (37.8°C). Test the water temperature in your units by running each a full 15 minutes. Test the water temperature at the beginning and the end of the 15-minute period. There are several factors that can lead to different temperature readings during the 15-minute drench and you must make certain that the entire drench falls within the approved temperature range Shower and eyewasheyewash water should always be lukewarm or tepid because skin that has been exposed to chemicals can be far more sensitive to heat and cold than normal.
Time is also critical when a worker has been exposed to hazardous substances. Have periodic safety drills to familiarize your employees with where the safety showers and eyewashs are located, as well as how to use them. Getting your exposed worker to the shower as quickly as possible not only protects the worker, but also reduces the chances of further spread of the contamination.
Workers need to be fully briefed on the potential danger of the chemicals with which they are working and be trained on how to operate the shower for those particular hazardous substances. Waste-water treatment workers, for example, are in close contact with sewage, storm water and treatment chemicals. The hazards are therefore high. Workers need to know and understand exposure limits and what to do when it comes to decontaminating skin and clothing.
Emergency eyewash and shower units are required to be installed in work areas where there is any potential for accidents involving corrosive, irritant or toxic substance that can absorb through the skin and eyes. According to ANSI Z358.1 2014, the location of these safety units should be no more than a maximum of 10 seconds away from the work area and on the same level. There should no obstruction in the path leading to the closest emergency shower. Any doors along that path may not have a lock and must open in the direction of the shower. The path to the shower or eyewash sink should be well lit, and clearly visible emergency signs must be posted along the way. Also, items should never be stored on top of an eyewash sink; they could block the water flow and prevent the worker from quickly rinsing off the chemicals. Combination shower/eyewash units need to be positioned so that the worker can use both components simultaneously.
Safety Shower Maintenance
There are a number of steps you can take to ensure that your emergency showers operate properly and are not affected by extreme temperatures. The key to having safety showers that work right is oversight: Make it clear who in your company is responsible for shower inspections, weekly testing, reports and maintenance. As part of your maintenance program, put a tagging system in place, so that workers themselves can check that an emergency shower has been properly tested and report anything they believe to be unsafe.
** ANSI Z358.1 2014 Requirements:
- Ensure continuous water supply delivering 20 gallons per minute for 15 minutes for safety showers and 0.4 gpm for eyewashes
- Deliver Tepid Water 60°F (15.6°C) and 100°F (37.8°C). to prevent thermal shock and ensure casualties can use the shower for the full duration.
- Install so the shower head is between 82 inches and 96 inches from the standing level.
- Safety Showers must be located within 10 seconds/55 feet of a potential hazard.
- Safety Showers must be located on the same level as the hazard and the path should be free of obstructions.
- Any doors that have to be negotiated must not have a lock and must open in the direction of travel towards the shower.
- The unit should be well-lit and identified with a highly visible sign.
- All plumbed units to be activated weekly to flush the line and verify proper operation and ensure flushing fluid is available. Self-contained units do need require weekly activation, however, the water level must be checked weekly to verify sufficient quantity for a full 15-minute compliant drench
- All units must be inspected annually to assure conformance to above standard.
- The apex of the eyewash flow must be positioned between 33 inches and 53 inches from the standing surface.
- Combination unit components shall be positioned so that the components may be used simultaneously by the same user.
- All employees who may be subject to exposure to hazardous materials must be trained in the use and also the locations of the unit.