Face shields are vital in environments that pose a risk to eyes and facial tissue. There are five main reasons for wearing face shields; however, some people think they’re not necessary to wear glasses. This is untrue because the shield will increase eye protection by preventing irritants like dust particles or splashes of molten metal from entering the eyes or reaching the facial area.
Protection against impact injuries
A face shield’s most crucial function is to protect against facial injury due to accidental impacts. If construction workers accidentally drop objects on their heads while working on high buildings, the force of the object hitting them is enough to break bones in its path. The face shield decreases this possibility with its shock absorbent material.
Protection from flying objects
In industrial settings, especially those that deal with hazardous chemicals or a lot of movement, glass and metal shards could fly into a worker’s face if they were not protected. Face shields can eliminate this possibility by being made out of safety rated material that effectively blocks these small projectiles from striking the wearer’s eyes and other facial tissue.
When using equipment
If you are working around machinery or heavy tools, wearing a face shields makes it much less likely for you to sustain an injury due to them suddenly coming loose and hitting your head. This is because the shield has been tested to ensure its ability to protect the wearer from impacts from all sorts of directions and speeds, which a tool flying off a machine could easily do.
Protection for chemical exposures
If you are working with hazardous chemicals, a face shield will prevent you from being exposed to them if they splash on your face or get in your eyes. This kind of exposure can have devastating consequences either immediately or later in life and even cause death. The shield’s material has been tested thoroughly to ensure that it doesn’t let liquids pass through it. Therefore, by wearing a face shield when working with certain chemicals, you’ll be protecting yourself against any harmful effects that may occur due to contact with them.
When welding
In this profession, workers wear a mask and their welding helmet to protect them from glare and ultraviolet rays produced by the welding arc. However, this may not be enough, as a welding helmet doesn’t protect a person’s face from the high heat and flames that the arc produces. Even though a welding mask gives good face protection from sparks and UV radiation, it is very likely for the wearer to sustain serious facial burns from being close to intense heat produced by an arc torch or plasma cutter. Therefore, wearing a face shield will prevent these injuries from happening by protecting your eyes and mouth from any direct contact with flames or hot metal particles that are ejected out of the machinery. Most importantly, it will protect against both ultraviolet light and infrared radiation, which can cause damage deep into your skin layers even if you aren’t facing them at the time.
Importance of face shield
The importance of a face shield is not to be taken lightly. Several factors protect a face shield against injury, which the wearer should consider before deciding not to use one.
1- Certification: Materials used in most face shields have been tested according to an international standard set by the American National Standards Institute for impact resistance. These materials are also certified by local or regional authorities.
2- Visibility: Although many people think they limit their vision while wearing them, they don’t if they are manufactured correctly with transparent lenses of high-quality material. Face shields offer clear, distortion free vision when appropriately fitted on the eyes and nose area.
However, some eye protection must still be worn over it to prevent ultraviolet light from entering.
