The most recent NFPA Journal Report of U.S. Firefighter Injuries documented 3,830 Eye Injuries in 1997. Many of these injuries could have been prevented by the use of proper eye protection. NFPA and OSHA have established standards for eye protection in order to minimize the number of occupational eye injuries each year. Compliance with these standards is crucial because it affects the health, safety, and liability exposure of every Fire Department.

As a manufacturer of eye protection systems for firefighters, ESS is continually called upon to explain and interpret the NFPA and OSHA standards. In an effort to improve the collective understanding of these standards, we have compiled this collection of references from NFPA 1971-2000, NFPA 1500, Federal OSHA Standards 29 CFR, and ANSI Z87.1. We encourage safety committee members to use this page as a reference in their procedures manual.

Both OSHA and NFPA 1500 standards reference ANSI Z87.1 as the benchmark standard for occupational eye and face protection. Sections 9&10 include the specific standards for evaluating factors such as impact resistance, lens thickness, projectile penetration, and optical quality. Departments should only use protective eyewear marked "Z87"; this indicates that the product has met ANSI Z87.1 standards. When NFPA 1500 standards reference ANSI Z87.1, they specifically require primary eye protection. ANSI Z87.1 is very clear in its description of primary versus secondary eye protection:

Definitions

Section 10.1 …While are primary protectors and may be used alone, they may also be used in conjunction with the other protectors.

NFPA 1500 Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, 1997 edition
NFPA 1500 is the U.S. Fire Service’s official guide for procedures and proper equipment use. Section 5-10 Eye and Face Protection sends a clear message that appropriate primary eye protection must be provided and worn:

This is the U.S. Fire Service’s official guide to minimum standards for protective ensemble elements. According to NFPA 1971-2000, eye protection is a component of the helmet element, and either a goggle or a faceshield must be attached to each structural helmet at all times.

Primary eye protection is required by NFPA 1500, so these definitions beg the question: "What products does NFPA 1971-2000 intend as primary eye protection?" This standard does not explicitly answer that question, so one has to logically assume that the same ANSI Z.87.1 primary eye protection standards referenced by NFPA 1500 are applicable. A review of ANSI Z.87.1 makes it clear that a faceshield can never be primary eye protection, while ANSI Z87.1-compliant goggles are primary eye protection for "appropriate hazards" such as projectiles and splashes.

NFPA 1971-2000, Section 5-2, Protective Helmets Performance Requirements, details the performance requirements that an eye protection system must meet to be compliant with this standard. These standards go beyond ANSI Z87.1, in an effort to address the unique performance needs required of protective eyewear that will be permanently attached a structural fire helmet. For a helmet to be NFPA 1971-2000 compliant, it must have a faceshield or goggle attached that can satisfy these performance requirements. Eye protection that complies is marked "NFPA 1971-2000."

The OSHA standards are very consistent with NFPA 1500, in stating that appropriate ANSI Z87.1 primary eye protection must be provided to employees.