Q. Where should the emergency eye wash station be located?A. To be effective, the equipment has to be accessible. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recommends that a person be able to reach the equipment in no more than 10 seconds. In practical terms, consider that the person who needs the equipment will be injured, and may not have use of their vision. Recommendations for this distance in linear terms range from 15 to 30 meters (50 to 100 feet).
Other recommendations include that the eyewash station should:
- be located as close to the hazard as possible
- not be separated by a partition from the hazardous work area.
- be on an unobstructed path between the workstation and the hazard. (Workers should not - have to pass through doorways or weave through machinery or other obstacles to reach them.)
- be located where workers can easily see them - preferably in a normal traffic pattern.
- be on the same floor as the hazard (no stairs to travel between the workstation and the emergency equipment)
- not come into contact with any electrical equipment that may become a hazard when wet.
Reference: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety
