Glossary of eye and face protection terms
Understand terms of safety glasses, goggles, faceshields and welding helmets
Protecting eyes and face from injury during potentially hazardous activities ranks high in importance among safety practices. And there is a world of eye protection available, including many items designed for specific hazardous conditions. Correct selection of protective gear may depend on understanding the unique terms used in this safety specialty.
Adjustable temples – Offer a choice of temple lengths for comfort and tight fit. Some adjustable temples tilt up and down to change the angle of the lenses.
Anti-scratch coatings – Extend lens life in abrasive environments. Brands include DX® coating (AOSafety), 4A coating (North) and Uvextreme® AF (Uvex).
Anti-static coatings – Reduce dust and particulate attraction to all lenses. Brands include DX® coating (AOSafety), 4A coating (North), and Uvextreme® AF (Uvex).
Chemical splash goggles – Protect from chemicals, acids or paint. Fit tighter than safety glasses for maximum protection.
Clip-on side shields – Attach to the sides of glasses that lack side protection. Most clip-on side shields do not make prescription glasses OSHA-compliant; however, properly selected and used, they can make a prescription lens a safety glass. (The lens itself must be a polycarbonate impact-resistant lens in order to pass.)
CSA – Canadian Standards Association – responsible for certifying manufacturers' products or services to their published requirements.
Face shields – Supplementary protective devices worn to shield the wearer's face from certain hazards. Face shields are secondary protectors only and must be worn with safety glasses or goggles, as stated in ANSI Z87.1.
Fog-free lenses – Great for humid environments or unstable climates. Also for moving from one extreme to another. Anti-fog coatings for safety glasses provide excellent fog prevention in high-humidity environments where sudden shifts in temperature occur. Examples include FogGard® Plus (American Allsafe), DX® coating (AO Safety), Duramass® AF4 (Crews), 4A coating (North), Uvextreme® AF (Uvex), and Fogban® (Willson).
Goggles – Protective devices that fit the face, surrounding the eyes in order to shield them from impact, splash, and vapor hazards. Available non-vented or with direct or indirect vents.
Hard coatings for safety glasses – Coatings permanently bonded to lenses to extend lens life. Examples include Duramass® hard coating (Crews) and Ultradura® hardcoat (Uvex).
Impact-resistant lenses – Hard, treated lenses that meet or exceed safety standards for impact resistance against debris and breakage. Capable of withstanding the appropriate impact tests of ANSI Z87.1.
Indoor/outdoor lenses (I/O) – Great for a variety of lighting conditions; the minimal color distortion makes them perfect for those who work both indoors and outdoors.
Infrared radiation – Electromagnetic energy with wavelengths from 780 to 2000 nanometers (nm).
LASER – An acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
Lens coatings – Protect from scratches, fogging, breakage and UV rays, depending on the coating applied.
Luminous transmittance – The fraction of light (380-780nm) passing through a medium.
Nanometer (nm) – One billionth of a meter (10-9 meter).
Optical radiation – The part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths of 200-2000nm.
Polarized lenses – Block out harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays while allowing specific non-harmful light in for greater visibility. Provide superior glare control for outdoor workers in bright, sunny conditions. Most safety glasses are not polarized; however, they are 99.9% UV-protected.
Polycarbonate lenses – Tough, transparent lenses with high impact strength. All selections of safety glasses have polycarbonate lenses.
Prescription safety glasses – Protect the eyes from flying debris, chemicals, and harmful UV rays, but have prescription lenses or prescription inserts.
Ratchet temples – Temples include a ratchet that allows the lens to pivot for optimal coverage of brow and cheekbone.
Safety glasses – Protect the eyes from flying debris, chemical and harmful lights. All safety glasses must conform to Z87.1 standards and should have a small (Z87.1) mark on the lens or the frame.
Side shield – A part of safety glasses, commonly attached to spectacles, that provides protection to the side of the eye.
Spectacle – A protective device to shield the wearer's eyes from a variety of hazards, depending on the spectacle type.
Sunglasses – Provide protection from harmful light rays; however, they are not impact-resistant like safety glasses.
Ultraviolet radiation – Electromagnetic energy with wavelengths from 200-380nm, per ANSI Z87.1.
UV protection – Protection against the harmful UV rays. All glasses are UV A and UV B protected. Some examples of Anti-UV coatings for safety glasses include DX® coating (AOSafety), 4A coating (North), and uvextreme® AF (Uvex).
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UV A rays – May produce severe reactions in all layers of the cornea. All safety glasses are 99.9% UV A protected.
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UV B rays – May cause permanent cataracts. All safety glasses are 99.9% UV B protected.
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UV C rays – May product photo keratitis (welder's flash). Only specialized safety glasses meet UV C standards.
Uvex – A name-brand manufacturer of safety glasses. Most Uvex products are made in the U.S.
Welding helmets – Protective devices intended to shield the eyes and face from optical radiation and impact. Welding helmets are secondary protectors and should be used only in conjunction with primary protectors.
Welding lenses – Welding lenses come in two shades: 3.0 and 5.0. They are the darkest of safety shades and work well for light gas and arc welding.
Wraparound lenses – Lenses wrap around to provide more protection than normal safety lenses. Wraparound safety glasses are OSHA-approved, even though they don't have side shields.
Z87.1 Standards – Safety standards to which all safety glasses must conform for impact-resistant lenses and frames.
Safety glasses lens color guide – Different lens colors are task-specific. A good rule of thumb is to choose a lens based on color opposites. For example, blue is opposite yellow, red opposite green. So red lenses absorb green light and yellow lenses absorb blue/ultraviolet light, and vice-versa.
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Amber lenses – (Same as yellow lenses.) Reduce glare and amplify light. Amber safety glasses block the blue portion of the visible light spectrum, creating maximum contrast enhancement, particularly in low light areas.
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Blue lenses – Use in work conditions with sodium vapor lighting and excessive glare.
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Clear lenses – General-purpose lenses that provide maximum protection and visibility. Use clear safety glasses for general indoor applications where impact protection is required.
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Copper Blue Blocker Lenses – Provide ultraviolet protection; filter select blue wavelength to help vision. Great for haze and fog. The lenses look brownish and shaded; however, they intensify outdoor light much like amber and vermillion lenses to provide a brighter field of vision.
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Dark green lenses – Use for general-purpose protection from glare and UV radiation. Use around welding, brazing or cutting applications, but not for use when actually welding.
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Espresso/brown lenses – Greatly reduce eyestrain in sunny environments but also allow visibility in dark environments. Very similar to smoke lenses. Use brown/espresso safety glasses for outdoor applications where sunlight and glare cause eyestrain and fatigue. Meet color traffic signal recognition requirements.
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Gray lenses – For outdoor applications where light and glare can cause eye strain and fatigue; provides good color recognition.
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Filter shades – Protect against ultraviolet and infrared radiation generated when working with molten metal and in welding, cutting, soldering and brazing operations. Shades 1.5 to 3 for torch soldering; shades 3 to 4 for torch brazing; shades 3 to 6 for cutting; shades 4 to 8 for gas welding; shades 10 to 14 for electric-arc welding.
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Mirrored lenses – Reduce eyestrain outdoors and in sunny environments while protecting the eyes. Mirrored glasses are just as dark as smoke lenses; they just have a different appearance when viewed from the outside looking in. The mirror coating reflects light, reducing the amount of light that passes through the lens.For combination indoor/outdoor safety glasses a clear lens with a slight mirror coating serves the same purpose as a gray lens, yet allows more visible light through the lens for indoor/outdoor use. Reduces glare from artificial light. Use gold, blue and silver mirror safety glasses outdoors where sunlight and glare cause eyestrain and fatigue.
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Smoke lenses – Smoke lenses greatly reduce eyestrain in sunny environments, but also allow visibility in dark environments. The smoke lenses are similar to a sunglass lens as far as appearance.
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SCT (Spectrum Control Technology) safety glasses are designed to absorb select wavelengths of radiant energy (light) such as ultraviolet (UV), infrared, or blue light; great for use around welding sites (not for use while welding).
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Vermillion lenses reduce glare, amplify light, block blue light, and are especially great for glass cutting and sheet metal work. These are the rose-color safety glasses. Enhance contrast while reducing all color equally for optimum color recognition. Ideal for indoor inspection tasks.
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