Emergency Eye and Body Showers

Eye showers

In laboratories, emergency eye showers fed with water (drinking water quality) must be installed in such a way that they can be reached immediately (within a maximum of 5 seconds) from any workstation. You should be able to immediately flush both eyes with sufficient amounts of water. The control part of the valves must be easily accessible, easy to operate and attached in a way that they cannot be confused. Once open, valves must not close automatically. Eyewash bottles with sterile rinsing liquid are only permitted if running water is not available. At least 6 liters of water per minute must escape from each outlet opening of an eye safety shower. The water jets must reach a height of at least 10 cm and no more than 30 cm above the water outlets. Good and quick accessibility must be given at all times. Eye rinsing must be done with the eyelids spread wide open to catch any chemical residue. The rinsing must be carried out for a long time, the recommendation is "at least 10 minutes" with a followup medical examination of the eye. Movable eye showers with only one flushing head are permitted if thea water jet reaches both eyes. Tempering the water to temperatures above room temperature is not suitable due to the risk of contamination. During installation, care must be taken to ensure that water does not stagnate in the supply lines for a long period of time. Water should also not be brought above room temperature by external heat. It is advisable to use DVGW-tested hoses for flexible lines. The location of emergency eye showers must be marked with the rescue sign "Emergency Eye Shower". Access must be kept free at all times. Emergency eye showers must be installed and kept free in such a way that they can be reached and used quickly at any time, even by people who are shorter of height.

Body showers

In laboratories, emergency body showers fed with water (drinking water quality) must be installed at the exit. They should be able to immediately flood all body zones with sufficient amounts of water. This requires at least 30 liters of water per minute. At least 30 liters of water per minute are required for laboratory emergency showers for adequate and sufficiently rapid decontamination and for extinguishing personal fires. The control lever of the quick-opening valve must be easily accessible and attached so that it cannot be confused. The opening direction must be clearly recognizable. Once opened, the valve must not close automatically. Chains to open the valve are not permitted. A  emergency body shower should be accessible from any location in the laboratory within a maximum of 5 seconds. The exact location of the emergency shower depends on the result of the risk assessment. Tempering the water to temperatures above room temperature is not suitable due to the risk of contamination. During installation, care must be taken to ensure that water does not stagnate in the supply lines for a long period of time. Water should also not be brought above room temperature by external heat. The location of emergency showers must be marked with the rescue sign "Emergency shower". Access must be kept free at all times. Good and quick accessibility must be given at all times. It can be helpful, for example, to mark the floor under the emergency shower with a conspicuous marking.

Testing of the eye and safety showers

The employer must ensure that safety eye and body showers are checked for functionality at least once a month by a person commissioned by him. During the test, in addition to the water volume flow, the water distribution picture and the quality of the water are to be assessed by visual inspection. Otherwise there is no guarantee that the actuating valve will remain free-moving and that the shower head will remain free. Frequent water changes also prevent contamination of the water pipe. It is recommended to use eye wash showers even more frequently.

• test protocol emergency eye shower
• procedural guidelines for testing eye showers
• test protocol emergency body shower
•  procedural guidelines for testing body showers
• test protocol emergency eye and body showers
• procedural guidelines for testing eye and body showers
• positioning guidelines for eye showers
• installation guidelines for eye showers

Source: Guidelines for laboratories