The Best Safety Goggles and Glasses

12 Aug.,2024

 

The Best Safety Goggles and Glasses

Other safety glasses and goggles we considered

If you want to learn more, please visit our website T-Safety.

3M Virtua CCS Protective Eyewear

If you want the best of goggles and glasses, the 3M Virtua glasses have a little of both. They fit like glasses, but they also have an extra protective removable foam gasket around the outer edge to create a more secure seal around your face.

The gasket has vents to reduce fogging, though we&#;ve found they can still fog up. We like the Cord Control System (CCS) that keeps your earplug cords in place and prevents them from tangling. They&#;re not as sturdy as other models, but we thought they had enough unique features to warrant a spot on our list.

Smith and Wesson Safety Glasses

It&#;s hard to find a pair of sunglasses that look cool on everyone, but these Smith and Wesson safety glasses might just hit the mark. Their sleek design lets them do double duty as your favorite pair of shades, and their sturdy construction and wraparound design give you all the protection you&#;ll need, whether you&#;re at the range, on the jobsite, or just mowing the lawn.

The tinted lenses reduce glare and protect against harmful UV rays, so they&#;re great for bright, sunny days. Bonus: the glasses come with a microfiber bag you can use for storage and for cleaning.

NoCry Over-Glasses Safety Glasses

If you want to be able to protect your eyes while wearing prescription glasses but you don&#;t like the feel of goggles, then the NoCry Over-Glasses Safety Glasses might be a good fit. They have a flatter front to them than other safety glasses, so there&#;s less image distortion, but they don&#;t have antifog. They have padded temples to reduce pressure and discomfort behind the ears, but they don&#;t work well with earmuffs. The NoCry glasses are slightly smaller than traditional OTG glasses, so be sure to check the dimensions to make sure your prescription glasses are compatible with this design before you buy. These glasses also come with a money-back guarantee.

Final word

We liked the DeWalt Concealer best thanks to its snug fit, excellent protection, prescription lens option, and affordable price. Aside from safety considerations like ANSI-certification, antifog lenses, and UV protection, it's also important to consider comfort and style. After all, you're more likely to wear safety glasses if you like the way they look and feel.

So if you aren't a fan of the DeWalt Concealer's goggle profile, consider another option from our list.

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Safety goggle FAQs

There are a few organizations that create standards for protective eyewear, including the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), and Military Ballistic Standards (denoted by MIL-PRF). Each number is a code indicating how well a product performs under a series of tests. When it comes to safety glasses and goggles, impact protection tests measure whether or not the lenses protect against hazards like flying debris. If the glasses provide adequate protection during these tests, they earn a standard rating: ANSI Z87.1 and above, CSA Z94.3, and MIL-PRF . 

The minimum ANSI rating on eyewear protection for legal approval by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration for use on most jobsites is Z87.1. If you need lenses that are certified for laser safety, look for an ANSI rating of Z136.

There are a lot of reasons you might need to wear a face shield with safety glasses, goggles, or other personal protective equipment, but doing so can pose challenges. If you have to choose, always prioritize the protection of your eyes over face protection&#;faces can be repaired and replaced; eyes cannot. To reduce fogging between your facemask and your eyewear, use adhesive tape to secure your face shield to your nose and cheeks. This will prevent your breath from fogging your glasses.

When it comes to choosing protective eyewear, the most important things to consider are your activities and your comfort.

If you need it for something more active, like sports, then select something that secures snugly to your face and won&#;t shift around with movement. If you&#;ll need it while outside, go with something that has a tint to protect your eyes from harsh UV rays. If you work in a lab where you may deal with splatters or airborne chemicals, the additional protection offered by goggles will keep you safer than glasses. If you frequently take your protective eyewear on and off, glasses might be a better choice.

No matter what eyewear you choose, make sure you feel good in it, or you&#;ll be less likely to use it.

Regular care and cleaning is essential to keeping your eyewear in good working condition. Follow the manufacturer&#;s instructions for proper cleaning after each use, and avoid touching the lenses of your glasses or goggles with your fingers, since they can leave behind debris and oils. For safety glasses, use a neck strap to keep them in place and prevent accidental drops. When you&#;re not using your glasses, store them in a case or in another protected location. If your glasses ever crack or show other signs of damage, stop using them right away. Get them fixed or purchase a replacement pair, and keep an extra pair on hand just in case.

For more safety goggles bulkinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

How we chose the best safety eyewear

We studied the highest-rated and most popular safety goggles and glasses to see which ones truly rose to the top. We checked safety ratings and considered each product&#;s unique features, and we read what users had to say about the comfort and convenience of each one. You can learn more about how we review and rank products by checking out our methodology.

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Eye Protection in Laboratory Spaces

Eye Protection in Laboratory Spaces

Protective eyewear must be worn in all laboratory spaces where physical, biological, and chemical hazards are present or whenever there is a chance of an eye injury. Eye injuries in laboratory spaces are very common and can result in serious eye damage. Eye injuries are preventable by wearing lightweight and impact-resistant safety glasses, goggles, or face shields.

Every day about U.S. workers sustain a job-related eye injury that requires medical treatment. Eye protection must be worn when hazards (physical, chemical, biological, radiological) are present in a laboratory space. Commonly overlooked hazards that require eye protection include cleaning supplies (i.e., bleach, 70% ethanol) and working with materials undergoing rapid temperature changes (i.e., heating agarose in a hot water bath or microwave). Cornell's Chemical Hygiene Plan follows the OSHA laboratory standard, which requires the use of eye protection. EHS requires that Principal Investigators and laboratory supervisors make the use of eye protection a mandatory requirement for all laboratory personnel, including visitors, working in or entering laboratories. It is the responsibility of the PI, lab supervisor, or designee to perform a risk assessment for their laboratory spaces, identify whether eye protection is required, and train lab staff on task-specific hazards. When making eye protection required, signage must be posted at the main entrance (on the HASP sign) stating eye protection is required in the laboratory space.

Eye Protection in Biological Laboratories

To help determine whether eye protection is required in your biological laboratory, the CDC publication, Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, states "Protective eyewear is worn by personnel when conducting procedures that have the potential to create splashes and sprays of microorganisms or other hazardous materials."

Some activities that have the potential to create splashes and sprays include:

  • Pipetting
  • Mixing
  • Centrifugation
  • Blending
  • Vortexing
  • Loading Syringes
  • Pouring liquids
  • Opening Containers
  • Streaking Plates
  • Using Disinfectants to Clean

If these activities are being performed, eye protection is required in the laboratory space.

When Working in Laboratory Spaces

  • Be aware of potential eye safety hazards within the laboratory spaces. Hazards can include biological agents, chemicals (including disinfectants), optical radiation, heat, etc.
  • Protective eyewear must be worn in all laboratory spaces where physical, biological, chemical hazards are present or whenever there is a chance of an eye injury.
  • There are prescription safety glasses or over the glass (OTG) safety glasses are available. Standard prescription glasses are not impact resistant and are not suitable alternatives to safety glasses.
  • "Fit testing" is needed to ensure the protective eyewear fits appropriately. 
  • Be sure all safety eyewear is marked "ANSI Z87."
  • Know the location of the nearest eyewash station, what practices should be performed if an eye exposure occurs, how to work the eyewash station, and where to report the incident. Incidents that should be reported include &#; injury, illness, exposure, injury-free or near miss.

Types of Eye Protection

Specific PPE requirements in the lab must meet the regulation and must be delegated and enforced by the PI or laboratory manager. 

Example Image of Safety Glasses

Safety Glasses

Safety glasses provide eye protection from moderate impact and particles associated with grinding, sawing, scaling, broken glass, minor chemical splashes, etc. Safety glasses do not provide adequate protection for processes that involve heavy chemical use, such as stirring, pouring, or mixing. These protective eyeglasses have safety frames constructed of metal or plastic and impact-resistant lenses. All safety glasses must have side shields to provide side impact protection.

Example Image of Safety Goggles

Chemical Safety Goggles

These are tight-fitting eye protection that completely covers the eyes and provides protection from chemical splashes, impact, and dust. Goggles are routinely used for protection against chemical splash hazards, use of concentrated corrosive material, and bulk chemical transfer. Some goggles will fit over corrective lenses.

Example Image of Laser Safety Goggles

Laser Safety Goggles

These specialty goggles protect different wavelengths of light produced by lasers. The type of laser safety goggles an employer chooses will depend upon the equipment and operating conditions in the space.

Example Image of Face Shield

Face Shields

These transparent sheets of plastic extend from the eyebrows to below the chin and across the entire width of the head. Face shields protect against nuisance dust and potential splashes or sprays of hazardous liquids but will not provide adequate protection against impact hazards. Face shields must not be used alone and are not a substitute for appropriate protective eyewear. When impact protection is needed, goggles or safety glasses must be used in conjunction with the face shield.

How to Obtain Protective Eyewear

  1. Determine which type of eye protection is most appropriate for the laboratory
  2. Both general and prescription eye protection can be purchased through VWR or Grainger.
    • If buying for the laboratory, it is recommended that several sizes are ordered, and "fit testing" is performed with each laboratory member to ensure the glasses provide adequate protection.

Contact EHS Research Safety for consultation on what type of eye protection would be appropriate for your laboratory space and "fit testing" laboratory members.

For more information on Cornell PPE requirements: Visit the EHS PPE Program homepage.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of soundproof earmuffs. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.