§ 1915.153 - Eye and face protection.

§ 1915.153 Eye and face protection.

(a) General requirements.

(1) The employer shall ensure that each affected employee uses appropriate eye or face protection where there are exposures to eye or face hazards caused by flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acid or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation.

(2) The employer shall ensure that each affected employee uses eye or face protection that provides side protection when there is a hazard from flying objects. Detachable side protectors (e.g., a clip-on or slide-on side shield) meeting the pertinent requirements of this section are acceptable.

(3) The employer shall ensure that each affected employee who wears prescription lenses while engaged in operations that involve eye hazards wears eye protection that incorporates the prescription in its design, unless the employee is protected by eye protection that can be worn over prescription lenses without disturbing the proper position of either the PPE or the prescription lenses.

(4) The employer shall ensure that each affected employee uses equipment with filter lenses that have a shade number that provides appropriate protection from injurious light radiation. Table I-1 is a listing of appropriate shade numbers for various operations. If filter lenses are used in goggles worn under a helmet which has a lens, the shade number of the lens in the helmet may be reduced so that the shade numbers of the two lenses will equal the value as shown in Table I-1, § 1915.153.

Table I-1 - Filter Lenses for Protection Against Radiant Energy

Operations	Electrode size 1⁄/32 in .	Arc current	Minimum * protective shade
Shielded metal arc welding	Less than 3	Less than	7	3-5	60	8	5-8	60-160	10	More than 8	Less than 60 60-160 160-250	11	250-550	7 8 10 11
Gas metal arc welding and flux cored arc welding		Less than	7	60	10	60-160	10	160-250	10	250-500	7 10 10 10
Gas Tungsten arc welding		Less than	8	50	8	50-150	10	150-500	8 8 10
Air carbon	(Light)	Less than 500	10
Arc cutting	(Heavy)	500	11	500-1000	11
Plasma arc welding		Less than	6	20	8	20−	10	100	11	100−	400	400−	800	20 20-100 100-400 400-800	6 8 10 11
Plasma arc cutting	(light) **	Less than 300	8	(medium) **	300-400	9	(heavy) **	Less than 300 300-400 400-800	8 9 10
Torch brazing			3
Torch soldering			2
Carbon Arc arc welding			14

** These values apply where the actual arc is clearly seen. Lighter filters may be used when the arc is hidden by the workpiece.

Filter Lenses for Protection Against Radiant Energy

Operations	Plate thickness - inches	Plate thickness - mm	Minimum * protective shade
Gas weldingWelding:
Light	Under 1⁄/8	Under 3.2	4
Medium	1⁄/8 to 1⁄/2	3.2 to 12.7	5
Heavy	Over 1⁄/2	Over 12.7	6
Oxygen cutting:
Light	Under 1	Under 25	3
Medium	1 to 6	25 to 150	4
Heavy	Over 6	Over 150	5

* As a rule of thumb, start with a shade that is too dark to see the weld zone. Then go to a lighter shade which gives sufficient view of the weld zone without going below the minimum. In oxyfuel gas welding or cutting where the torch produces a high yellow light, it is desirable to use a filter lens that absorbs the yellow or sodium line in the visible light of the (spectrum) operation.

(b) Criteria for protective eye and face devices.

(1) Protective eye and face protection devices must comply with any of the following consensus standards:

(i) ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2010, Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices, incorporated by reference in § 1915.5;

(ii) ANSI Z87.1-2003, Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices, incorporated by reference in § 1915.5; or

(iii) ANSI Z87.1-1989 (R-1998), Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection, incorporated by reference in § 1915.5;

(2) Eye and face protection devices that the employer demonstrates are at least as effective as protective as eye and face protection devices that are constructed in accordance with one of the above consensus standards will be deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.

[61 FR 26352, May 24, 1996,, as amended at 74 FR 46358, Sept. 9, 2009; 81 FR 16091, Mar. 25, 2016; 85 FR 8732, Feb. 18, 2020]