Because thereare good
eye safety regulations in the workplace, the home is the source of thefastest-growing number of eye injuries. Ninety percent of these eye injures canbe prevented through understanding, safety practices and the use of proper eyeprotection.About onethird of the
injuries are treated in hospital emergency departments and morethan 100 of these injuries result in one or more days of lost work. Themajority of these injuries result from small particles or objects striking orabrading the eye. Thermal burns to the eye occur as well. The eye protection chosenfor specific work situations depends upon the nature and extent of the hazard,the circumstances of exposure, other protective equipment used, and personalvision needs. Indoor SafetyUse safety gatesat the top and bottom of stairs.Pad or cushion sharp corners and edges of furnishing and home fixtures. Why is eye safety at work important? Eye injuries in the workplace are verycommon. Experts believe that the right eyeprotection could have lessened the severity or even prevented 90% of eyeinjuries in accidents. What
type of safety eyewear is availableto me? What type of safety eye protectionshould I wear? The type of safety eye protectionyou should wear depends on the hazards in your workplace. Teachers can use eclipsesto show how the laws of motion and the mathematics of orbital motion canpredict the occurrence of eclipses. The use of pinhole cameras and telescopesor binoculars to observe an
eclipse leads to an understanding of the optics ofthese devices. The rise and fall of environmental light levels during aneclipse illustrate the principles of radiometry and photometry, while biologyclasses can observe the associated behavior of plants and animals. It is alsoan opportunity for children of school age to contribute actively to scientificresearch - observations of contact timings at different locations along theeclipse path are useful in refining our knowledge of the orbital motions of theMoon and earth, and sketches and photographs of the
solar corona can be used tobuild a three-dimensional picture of the Sun's extended atmosphere during theeclipse.The tissues in the eyetransmit a substantial part of the radiation between 380 and 1400 nm to thelight-sensitive retina at the back of the eye. While environmental exposure toUV radiation is known to contribute to the accelerated aging of the outerlayers of the eye and the development of cataracts, the concern over improperviewing of the Sun during an eclipse is for the development of "eclipseblindness" or retinal burns.The result is a loss ofvisual function which may be either temporary or permanent, depending on theseverity of the damage. The only time that the Sun can be viewed safely withthe naked eye is during a total eclipse, when the Moon completely covers thedisk of the Sun. It is never safe to look at a partial or annular eclipse,or the partial phases of a total solar eclipse, without the proper equipmentand techniques. The same techniques for observing the Sun outside ofeclipses are used to view and photograph annular solar eclipses and the partlyeclipsed Sun
. The safest and mostinexpensive method is by projection. The main advantage of the projectionmethods is that nobody is looking directly at the Sun. The disadvantage of thepinhole method is that the screen must be placed at least a meter behind theopening to get a solar image that is large enough to see easily.The Sun can only be vieweddirectly when filters specially designed to protect the eyes are used. Themetallic silver contained in the film emulsion is the protective filter. Someof the newer black and white films use dyes instead of silver and these areunsafe. Some sources of solar filters are listed in the following section.The fact that the Sunappears dim, or that you feel no discomfort when looking at the Sun through thefilter, is no guaranee that your eyes are safe. These glass filters can crackunexpectedly from overheating when the telescope is pointed at the Sun, andretinal damage can occur faster than the observer can move the eye from theeyepiece. In the days and weeks preceding a solar eclipse, there are often newsstories and announcements in the media, warning about the dangers of looking atthe eclipse.
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