Safety goggles for the laboratory: optimal eye protection

What are the characteristics of laboratory safety goggles?

When experimenting in the laboratory or handling dangerous substances, personal protection is essential. Protective equipment for the laboratory indispensable. In addition to laboratory protective clothing such as safety shoes and lab coats, laboratory safety goggles are also mandatory for work in the laboratory. During chemical reactions, dangerous, irritating or corrosive substances can quickly be sprayed and endanger the eyes. For this reason, safety goggles are indispensable in chemistry. But in other technical professions, such as metalworking or on construction sites, chips, particles or sparks in the air can also pose a danger to eyesight. Here, laboratory safety goggles ensure that the eyes are protected from splashes or flying particles.

Safety goggles for the laboratory: standard and legal requirements

To ensure the safety of employees, a hazard assessment of the workplace must be carried out. This identifies the potential hazards and determines measures to avoid them. This also determines the personal protective equipment (PPE) for the employee, which must then be made available for the activity. Like all other items of personal protective equipment, safety goggles are also subject to the European PPE Regulation EU 2016/425, which means that only items approved in this way can be sold in Europe.

The standard EN166 (Personal Eye Protection Requirements) applies to safety goggles for laboratories. This standard can be supplemented for individual applications by the other EN standards EN167 - 175 and EN 379. EN-ISO standards for ophthalmic optics also apply. All safety spectacles at MedSolut.com meet the necessary standards for the promised areas of application and are marked accordingly.

Laboratory goggles: criteria for selection

Due to the different applications, there are very different requirements for laboratory goggles. Further aspects have to take into account the personal needs of the employees. Therefore, the following features, among others, can be distinguished.

Adjustability

Like all goggles, laboratory safety goggles should have a good fit because they will be worn for a long time. To avoid pressure points, the majority of safety glasses can be adjusted so that the frame fits the shape of the head perfectly and no wearing discomfort occurs.

Properties of the glasses

Great demands are made on the lenses of safety goggles. One important characteristic is scratch resistance, so that the lenses last for a long time. Furthermore, a coating that prevents the lenses from fogging up can be useful, especially for safety goggles. If the laboratory glasses have to be frequently cleaned of contamination, for example in clean rooms or in a medical environment, they should also be autoclavable and withstand regular high-pressure sterilisation processes without damage. In addition, for handling corrosive chemicals or flying sparks, appropriate chemical-resistant or spark-resistant coatings can significantly increase the life of the goggles.

Tinting the goggles

For different types of work, it can be useful if the goggles are tinted. For example, grey tints reduce the intensity of incoming light, which is helpful in bright environments. Yellow tints can enhance contrasts and improve spatial perception. If it is important to be able to judge colours well, unshaded lenses are an advantage.

Weight

For a long wearing time, it is advantageous if the glasses have a very low weight in addition to a perfect fit. This avoids pressure on the ears and nose and prevents pressure points. Heavier glasses are often discarded due to discomfort and do not always offer the desired protection.

Glasses shape

With laboratory spectacles it is important that the eyes are protected not only from the front but also from the side. Therefore, many goggles have a separate side shield, which should allow a clear view to the side. A distinction can be made between tight-fitting curved glasses, which are adapted to the shape of the head in such a way that they do not need a separate side shield. The wider and more unrestricted the field of vision, the better this is for the employee.

Safety goggles in the laboratory Solutions for spectacle wearers

Special solutions must be found for wearers of glasses, since vision must be taken into account in addition to eye safety. For example, prescription glasses are not sufficient protection according to EN 166. There are usually two different types of safety glasses for the laboratory:

Safety goggles

Safety glasses are worn over the prescription glasses that are responsible for vision. The goggles are appropriately sized and, above all, wide to ensure that the two frames can be worn comfortably together. It is also important to ensure that the lenses of the two frames do not rub against each other to prevent damage.

Safety glasses, such as the Dräger X-pect 8100 available at MedSolut.com, are very flexible because they can be combined with a wide variety of prescription glasses and are also suitable for visitors, for example. However, due to their size, they are often heavier than other laboratory safety glasses and fog up more quickly, which can be uncomfortable when worn for longer periods of time.

Corrective safety glasses

Corrective safety goggles offer an alternative. These are safety goggles with ground safety lenses that have been optically corrected according to the individual's visual performance . Corrective safety glasses are therefore highly individualised and correspondingly expensive. However, corrective safety spectacles are intended to be worn in the laboratory for longer periods of time, and the disadvantages of over-glasses do not apply here.

Laboratory safety spectacles at MedSolut.com Manufacturer and product range

MedSolut.com only carries brand manufacturers in the field of safety glasses, whose quality and service can be relied upon.

BÜRKLE

BÜRKLE is a family business which was founded directly after the Second World War in the early 1950s. The focus is on laboratory equipment made of plastic for taking samples and filling dangerous and aggressive liquids. BÜRKLE's laboratory safety goggles are without exception of high quality, comply with the prescribed standards and focus on the safety of laboratory personnel. At MedSolut.com, you can choose between safety goggles , ultra-light safety goggles and full-vision goggles as part of the portfolio.

Dräger

Dräger products have been protecting the safety and lives of laboratory workers since 1889. The internationally leading family business in safety and medical technology has developed into a large group over five generations. You can always rely on customer proximity, innovative strength and quality. The safety goggles from Dräger, which you can buy at MedSolut.com, include the complete range of series for safety goggles, classic safety goggles and full-vision goggles.

Get advice on the right safety glasses for your laboratory now!

If you want to increase the safety of your laboratory staff and need new individual laboratory glasses, we are happy to be there for you and support you in your selection. Contact us: Our expert advisors have years of experience and will help you find the perfect safety glasses for your laboratory. You can reach us by phone at +49 (0) 30 2096579 00 or send us an email at info@medsolut.com.