When a chemical hits skin or eyes
Hazard communication 5 min 29 CFR 1926.50 · 29 CFR 1926.59
Why it matters
Know the eyewash before you open a corrosive. If a chemical hits an eye or soaks a shirt, flush at the eyewash or the water and get the soaked clothes off. Keep flushing until medical help tells you to stop. The label and the SDS say if water is wrong for that product.
The talk
Know where the eyewash is before you open a corrosive. A corrosive eats skin and eyes. If you have to hunt for the station after the splash, you lose the time that matters. Walk to it before you open the can. Make sure the path is clear and that the water runs. 1926.50 is why this site has a way to flush where corrosives are used. If you do not see the eyewash, ask before the lid comes off. Do not open the product and hope you will not need the water. Show the new person on the crew where it is before they carry the first bucket.
If a chemical hits an eye or soaks a shirt, get to the eyewash or the water and flush. Take off soaked clothes while you flush. Cloth holds the chemical against the skin. Do not pull a dry shirt over a wet face and drag chemical across the eye. Keep flushing until medical help tells you to stop. Do not quit because the burning eased for a moment. Do not wipe the chemical back toward the eye. Wipe away from the eye, or do not wipe at all and let the water carry it off. Call for help so someone else can get the sheet and the medical help while you keep the water going.
The label and the safety data sheet say if water is wrong for that product. Follow the SDS. Read that part before you open the container, which is what 1926.59 is for: the label and the sheet are on the job so you know. If the sheet says to flush with water, start now and keep going until medical help tells you to stop. If the sheet says water is wrong for that product, do what the sheet says and still call for help. Do not put the chemical back toward the eye while you wait. Do not go back to the task with wet clothes still on.
Key points
- Know the eyewash before you open a corrosive.
- 1926.50 is why the site has flushing where corrosives are used.
- If a chemical hits an eye or soaks a shirt, flush and take off soaked clothes.
- Keep flushing until medical help tells you to stop.
- Do not wipe the chemical back toward the eye.
- Call for help while the flush continues.
- Follow the label and the SDS if water is wrong for that product. 1926.59 is why they are there.
Do this
- Walk to the eyewash and see that it runs before you open a corrosive.
- Flush an eye or soaked skin at the eyewash or the water.
- Take soaked clothes off while you flush.
- Keep flushing until medical help tells you to stop.
- Read the SDS first so you know if water is the right flush.
Do not do this
- Do not open a corrosive if you do not know where the eyewash is.
- Do not leave soaked clothes on the skin.
- Do not stop the flush just because the burn eased.
- Do not wipe the chemical back toward the eye.
- Do not ignore an SDS that says water is wrong for that product.
Talk about it
- Where is the eyewash for the corrosives we are using today?
- Which SDS on this job says what to do if the product gets in an eye?
- Who calls for medical help while the person at the eyewash keeps flushing?
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Send to the crew
The crew link opens the talk so each person can read it and sign on their own phone.
Scan at the jobsite. It opens the crew sign-off.