Toolbox Talk · Emergency Response · English
Migna Safety Solutions
Eyewash and Emergency Showers
About 7 minutes to deliver · 29 CFR 1910.151 · 29 CFR 1926.50
1910.151(c): where the eyes or body of any person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body shall be provided within the work area for immediate emergency use.
Within the work area. Not down the corridor, not in the other building.
Seconds decide the outcome
An alkali — caustic, lime, wet concrete, drain cleaner — keeps eating into tissue for as long as it is in contact. With the eye, the difference between flushing in the first ten seconds and flushing after two minutes is often the difference between an irritated eye and a damaged one.
The accepted target is a station reachable in about ten seconds, along a clear, unobstructed path, on the same level. Test that by walking it with your eyes closed, because that is how it will be walked.
How to use it
- Fifteen minutes. That is the number for most corrosives, and longer for strong alkalis. It feels like a very long time and people stop after two. Somebody should stand there and keep them in it.
- Hold your eyelids open with your fingers. The reflex is to clamp shut, and a closed eye does not flush.
- Roll your eyes around so the water reaches everywhere, including under the lids.
- Get contact lenses out as soon as you can, but do not stop flushing to hunt for them — chemical sits behind a lens.
- Body splash: get the clothing off while you are under the shower. Fabric holds the chemical against your skin and keeps it working.
- Someone calls for help while the flushing happens, not before it starts.
Cement and concrete
Wet concrete is a strong alkali and the burns creep up on you — they do not hurt at first, so people kneel in it or let it sit in a boot for hours and end up with a deep chemical burn. Rinse it off skin straight away, change wet clothing, and treat concrete in the eye as a full fifteen-minute flush and a trip to a doctor.
Keeping the station real
- Weekly flush of plumbed units, to clear the stagnant water sitting in the pipe and to prove it works.
- Sealed bottles are not an eyewash station. They buy you a few seconds on the way to one.
- Nothing stored in front of it, ever. The pallet parked in front of the shower is the most common failure of this entire system.
Ask the crew
- Where is the nearest eyewash from where we are working, and how long is that walk?
- Has anyone flushed the plumbed units this week?
- What do we use that could burn — including the concrete?
This is a toolbox talk, not a course. It is general awareness on one topic — not site-specific, not a hazard assessment, and not a substitute for assessment of your workplace by a competent person, your written programs, or manufacturers’ instructions. It does not by itself satisfy any OSHA training requirement. Regulations change; verify against the current standard. Whoever delivers it is responsible for deciding it is suitable and sufficient for the work. Where a talk covers first aid, resuscitation, or mental health it is general safety information, not medical advice, not a substitute for professional medical care or certified emergency-response training, and it confers no certification — in an emergency, call 911. Free to print and use, as is, with no warranty of any kind. Migna Safety Solutions · training.mignasafetysolutions.com
Attendance Record
Form supplied by Migna Safety Solutions
Eyewash and Emergency Showers
29 CFR 1910.151 · 29 CFR 1926.50
I delivered this talk and determined it was suitable for this crew and this work.
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Keep this sheet with your training records. This form is supplied blank by Migna Safety Solutions — we did not deliver this session, were not present, and make no representation about what was said or who attended. A toolbox talk is general awareness on one topic and does not by itself satisfy any OSHA training requirement. The employer remains responsible for site-specific hazard assessment and for the training its workers are required to have. Where a talk covers first aid, resuscitation, or mental health it is general safety information, not medical advice, and confers no certification — in an emergency, call 911. Free to print and use, as is, with no warranty of any kind. training.mignasafetysolutions.com