Wire Strand Embedded in Eye

DATE: December 4, 2008
SUBJECT: Wire Strand Embedded in Eye
SCOPE: Canadian Operations
PURPOSE: To Promote the Habitual Use of Safety Glasses When Performing
Any Hazardous Operation

A worker was using a grinder with a wire wheel and had safety glasses on. When he stopped grinding, he took his safety glasses off. He saw a spot he missed grinding, picked up the wire wheel, turned it on but failed to put his safety glasses back on. A loose strand flew up and landed squarely in his eye. He was taken to the local medical center where they gave him some sedatives and set him on to a hospital. Four hours later they performed surgery to remove the wire. He was released from the hospital after three days and is expected to make a full recovery but with some vision impairment that will be correctible by glasses or contact lenses – he did not need these before the incident. The wire strand punctured his eye to a depth of one half inch.

Lessons learned:
· Always wear your PPE—especially eye protection using safety glasses, goggles, full face shields, etc.
· Just when you think nothing will happen… IT WILL!
· Letting your guard down greatly increases the chances of a life-altering incident
· You may view your Safety glasses as a pain to put on… but without them, you may never view anything again