SAFETY GLASSES and GOGGLES BUYERS GUIDE

SAFETY EYEWEAR BUYER'S GUIDE
Contrary to gemon belief, OSHA does not set forth the specific requirements for safety eyewear; it simply points to the standard established by another group. Safety eyewear requirements are governed by various international standards. ANSI Z87 standards are applicable in the USA, CSA Z94 standards are applicable to Canada, and other standards are used in Europe, Japan and Australia. These standards vary by region so just because a pair of safety eyewear meets US standards, it does not necessarily mean it meets the standards applicable in Canada or England or elsewhere. The standards themselves are copyrighted documents and thus are not available online unless you pay for them. ANSI (American National Standards Institute) requires member groups to review and update their standards every 5 years. The most recent update to the Z87.1 standard was was effective in August 2003, when a new (optional) guideline for high impact was added to the base standard.
Good safety glasses are made from polycarbonate and are shatter resistant. This doesn't mean they are unbreakable or that they willlast forever. Their purpose is to protect the wearer from injury from accidental projectiles and particles. As the lenses begee exposed to more and more bits and pieces of materials over time, they will begee pitted. The more pitted they begee, the less clear you will be able to see things. More importantly, after awhile, the bombardment of particles will weaken the lenses and they should be replaced.
Safety glasses are not intended to be used for paintball and other such activities where the focus might be for someone to be shooting directly at the lenses. Although they can often stand up to such "attacks", please remember that they are designedto ward off incidental fragments. Safety standards for paintball, hockey, etc. are set forth by ASTM and require thicker lenses for the eyewear that is used.
Most safety glasses also provide a high level of UV protection and therefore can be used as sunglasses. All of our safetyglasses, provide 99.9% UVA/UVB protection. Of course, many people pay a lot for sunglasses because of the brand name or special styling, but safety glasses are now also available in attractive styles as well. The important thing about this is that sunglasses have a very low standard to meet, and a pair of safety glasses will generally provide equal or far more protection than sunglasses costing much, much more. With sunglasses, it's often a case of NOT getting what you pay for (unless the brand name is worth 90% of the price to you).
When you look for safety glasses, there are a number of things to consider, besides the price of the item:

Ensure that the safety eyewear meets the standard applicable for your region and also usage. In the US, "ANSI Z87" or "Z87+" (for glasses passing the high impact tests) should be marked on the frame and the manufacturer's initials and any special lens attribute should be noted on the lens. There are some standard styles safety glasses sold in the marketplace which are actually made from useless plastic and do not meet the required standards; just because they "look" like safety glasses doesn't mean they are.
Look for the safety glasses made with high quality, virgin resin polycarbonate material. Recycled resins are cheaper, but they also are burdened with a high degree of distortion and yellowing lensesand are not as durable.
Zero distortion lenses allow you to not only see more clearly through the safety glasses, but also allow you to wear them for longer periods of time without eyestrain or fatigue.
If you will be wearing the safety glasses over-top of prescription lenses or reading glasses, make sure they they are large enough to fit. Visitors spectacles are specifically designed for such purposes, but you can sometimes find smaller safety glasses that will also work if the frame for your prescription lenses is small. Safety glasses with bifocal lenses are also available, sometimes allowing you to take off your prescription glasses altogether.
Fit is very important. There are a few aspects to this: width of the frame, width of the nosepiece, length of the temples, and angle of the temples with respect to the lenses. Safety glasses may vary from 4 to 6 inches across from temple hinge to temple hinge; finding the one that fits your face well helps to not only ensure they stay on, but also to maximize protection. Most safety glasses are made with standard size nosepieces, and these generally work for most people. However, there are some styles in the market for people with wide noses. Temple length and angle is based on standard size heads. To acgeodate people with larger heads or ears placed lower on the side of the head, some styles of safety glasses have extendable and ratcheted temples. This allows the piece that fits over the ears to be made about 1/2" longer, and also enables you to slightly change the angle that the temple pieces move away from the front frame and lenses.
Fit ensures gefort, but additional features can further this. If the nosepiece is soft, rather than a molded-in part of the lens, it will enhance gefort. If the glasses have soft pieces on the temple tips, they will be easier on your ears. If the temple frame is thinner and more flexible, that also adds to gefort. Lastly, if the glasses are lighter in weight, that will help ensure a gefortable wear.
Replacement lenses, if they are available, can help reduce ongoing costs. However, for most styles of safety glasses, the most expensive geponent is the lens so don't expect to be paying a lot less for just the lens.
Degree of protection is more than just the safety rating. Glasses can have the added features of side shields, wrap-around lenses, and brow-guards.
Other features which may be desired based on your needs include: eyelet holes on temple tips for use with breakaway glasses cords, hard coated lenses, anti-fog lens coating, UVA/UVB filtering, special lens colors, frame materials (polycarbonate, nylon, metal, etc.), padding around lens, straps instead of temples, vented frames to increase airflow and minimize lens fogging, etc.
Lastly, make sure the lens tint is applicable for your specific application.
We have a wide variety of premium quality safety glasses and goggles available in our okay Store. Check it out! Beedo Safety Store
LENS OPTIONS AVAILABLE INCLUDE:

Clear - Can be used for indoor and outdoor environments. For normal lighting conditions.
Grey / Smoke - Helps reduce glare in bright lighting conditions. Generally for use outdoors in the sun to reduce eyestrain and fatigue.
Dark grey - Darker shade of grey. Helps reduce glare in bright lighting conditions. Generally for use outdoors in the sun to reduce eyestrain and fatigue.
Mocha - Helps reduce glare in bright lighting conditions. Generally for use outdoors in the sun to reduce eyestrain and fatigue. Also helps to filter blue light.
Amber - Yellow lens. Helps enhance visual contrast in low lighting conditions. Good for conditions where only ambient light is present such as early morning, late day, overcast, foggy, and inclement weather conditions (rain, snow, etc.).
Indoor-outdoor - Clear silver mirror coating over a very light grey tinted lens. Great for changing lighting conditions, and also for driving at night (because they can reflect glare from ongeing headlights). This lens provide a "middle ground" solution for workers who wear safety glasses and frequently move from indoors to outdoors, such as warehouse workers. The lenses will reflect the sun's glare, but not to the same degree a darker shaded or full-mirrored lens will.
Blue tint indoor-outdoor - Clear blue mirror coating over a very light grey tinted lens. Can be worn indoors or outdoors. Great for changing lighting conditions, and also for driving at night.
Silver mirror - Silver mirror coating over a dark grey lens. Helps reduce glare in bright lighting conditions. Generally for use outdoors in the sun to reduce eyestrain and fatigue.
Color mirror - Gold, green and blue spectrum mirror coating over a dark grey lens. Helps reduce glare in bright lighting conditions. Generally for use outdoors in the sun to reduce eyestrain and fatigue.
Blue mirror - Blue mirror coating over a dark grey lens. Helps reduce glare in bright lighting conditions. Generally for use outdoors in the sun to reduce eyestrain and fatigue.
Red mirror - Red mirror coating over a dark grey lens. Helps reduce glare in bright lighting conditions. Generally for use outdoors in the sun to reduce eyestrain and fatigue.
Gold mirror - Gold mirror coating over a dark grey lens. Helps reduce glare in bright lighting conditions. Generally for use outdoors in the sun to reduce eyestrain and fatigue.
Vermilion - Reddish/pinkish lens. Helps enhance visual contrast. Reduces glare from fluorescent and halogen lighting. Generally for indoor work environments, however, they can also be used outdoors in low lighting conditions, similar to conditions ideal for amber lenses.
Light blue - Helps enhance visual contrast. For environments with high levels of yellow light, such as sodium vapor lighting. These lenses are generally intended for indoor use.
IR1.7 - Extremely light green tinted lens that provides infrared radiation (IR) protection for light duty welding applications. Often used for soldering and cutting/grinding. (See below.)
IR3 - Light green tinted lens that provides infrared radiation (IR) protection for light duty welding applications. Often used for brazing, oxygen cutting, glass blowing and kiln work. (See below.)
IR5 - Green tinted lens that provides infrared radiation (IR) protection for light duty welding applications. Often used for gas welding, glass blowing and kiln work. (See below.)
IR9 - Dark green tinted lens that provides infrared radiation (IR) protection for heavy duty welding applications. Often used for arc welding. (See below.)
IR11 - Dark green tinted lens that provides infrared radiation (IR) protection for heavy duty welding applications. Often used for arc welding. (See below.)
Bifocal - Lens with no magnifying power in the top portion (for distance vision), and a magnifying diopter for reading in the lower portion. Available lens powers are +1.0, +1.5, +2.0, +2.5 and +3.0.
Anti-fog coating - Helps reduce condensation from building up on the lens in extreme temperature conditions. The effects of the coating can last up to 6 months, depending on usage.
Hard coated / uncoated lenses - Most lenses are hard coated/scratch resistant. The hard coating is applied to most safety glasses to extend their longevity. Visitors spectacles and some styles of traditional style safety glasses are available without this coating .
Please refer to OSHA guidelines and your equipment reference manual for the appropriate IR shade of lens to use for your specific welding application.
Copyright 2006 Beedo International, Inc.