Face shields are a necessity in many professions and for quite a lot of tasks in the workplace or at home. OSHA requires the use of face shields when workers are exposed to flying objects, molten metal, liquid chemical compounds, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gasses or vapors, or doubtlessly hazardous light radiation. Specific jobs requiring the usage of face shields embody metal workers, some medical employees, industrial painters and employees in chemical plants. While not all employment and tasks require a face shield, they're usually missed and must be used more often.

5 Reasons To Use A Face Shield
Flying debris: Mud and other fine supplies can fly into your eyes. When utilizing chainsaws, angle grinders or comparable power tools, you must always use a face shield.
Splash hazards: When handling acids, corrosives, chemical adherents or strippers and or with body fluids you must wear face shields. Typical safety eyewear doesn’t provide the necessary liquid splash protection required for these type of hazards.
Excessive heat: When performing furnace maintenance, engaging in welding or dealing with any molten substance you need to use a face shield. Some face shields, typically employed in foundries, have particular coatings to provide further protection from extreme temperatures.
Arc Hazards: Electricians working with high voltage connections want protection from potential arc explosions, which can lead to severe burns and death! Only specifically designed face shields needs to be used. The Elvex ARC-Shield is an example of a face shield specifically designed to protect in opposition to arc flash.
High-velocity impact hazards: Safety glasses do an ideal job of protecting your eyes. Nevertheless, they can't protect your face. Plus, safety glasses might fail if hit by an object with sufficient mass or velocity. Face shields provide an additional level of protection from high-mass and high-velocity impact hazards. With that being said, it’s always really useful to wear safety eyewear underneath your face shield.

Fortunately, safety glasses stopped this broken angle-grinder disk because a face shield ought to have been worn.

5 Face Shield Options To Consider
Side protection on face shields provides elevated protection from lateral hazards. It’s a natural intuition to turn your face away from an object flying towards you. Nevertheless, this might expose your eyes or face to the incoming hazard. Ensure that your face shield has adequate side protection, particularly for those who’re working around liquid splash or radiation hazards.
Goggle kinds such because the Jackson MonoShield with Goggles or Bolle Atom Shield provide another option for face protection when working in clean rooms, metal processing, foundries, mining, building and more. These face shields combine a removable goggle with a face shield. This feature provides the ability to switch the goggle if it becomes scratched or damaged. Plus, you may find these face shields easier to make use of in lab environments, because the face shield fits closer to your face.
Headgear – Face shields are typically worn with headgear or mounted to a traditional hard hat. Consider the type of environment you’ll be working in and choose the appropriate headgear system. Most face shield manufacturers provide adapters for mounting their products on hard hats.
Face shields are available in removable or lift-front designs. Removable face shields allow for simple replacement while lift-entrance styles might be lowered and raised shortly as the task requires.
Face shield materials comes in polycarbonate, Lexan or wire mesh models. Polycarbonate and Lexan protect towards impacts and are available in clear or tinted versions. Wire mesh face shields are fashionable with loggers and provide protection from impacts, plus they don’t fog up. Nevertheless, wire mesh face shields shouldn't be used for work involving chemical, liquid splash, or fine mud hazards.
Think Safety Glasses AND Face Shield
Face shields do a wonderful job of providing further eye and face protection from a wide range of dangers. Nevertheless, it is best to always wear safety glasses under your face shield because the bottom and sides of face shields typically have gaps. Liquid or debris passing via these gaps can contact your eyes, potentially inflicting an injury.

Be sure to take the time to evaluate the hazards in your work area and choose the appropriate eye and face protection.