Emergency Eyewashes and Showers

• Be accessible within 10 seconds of travel
• Be located on the same level as the hazard
• Be free of obstruction
• Be identified with highly visible signage
• Go from “Off” to “On” in one second or less when operated
• Deliver tepid flushing fluid 60-100o F (16-38o C), for a full 15 minutes

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)

• Conducts annual compliance inspections and periodic audits of emergency showers and eyewash stations according to the ANSI Z358.1 Standard and University standards and guidelines.
• Assist with building plan review and selection from a list of recommended equipment during new construction or major renovation.
• Maintain an updated inventory of emergency eyewash and safety shower equipment.
• Approve whether emergency eyewash and shower equipment can be removed from university buildings.
• Provide inspection tags and zip ties upon request.

Principal Investigators and Departmental Units

• Weekly flushing of eyewash units and keeping flushing logs up-to-date and accessible for auditing.
• Provide students and employees with training on location and how to use emergency showers and eyewash stations.
• Submit a facilities workorder of eyewashes or showers that have failed weekly inspections.
• When emergency eyewash stations are not functioning properly, post a sign stating "Out of Service."

Facilities Services and Contractors

• Notify EHS of plans to install, modify, or remove eyewash units or safety showers.
• Assemble and install all units per manufacturer’s instructions. Units shall also meet the requirements of the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment Standard Z358.1-2014.
• Provide options for back up eyewash and safety shower capabilities when existing units are out of service.

Weekly Activation of Plumbed Eyewashes and Drench Hoses

Plumbed eyewashes must be activated weekly for a period long enough to verify operation and ensure that flushing fluid is available. This helps clean out any rust, scale deposits, or bacteria that may accumulate. This is the responsibility of the occupants of the space. The weekly activations should:

• Ensure that access to the eyewash is unobstructed.
• Visually inspect the eyewash to ensure that there are no broken parts, leaks, etc.
• Verify that protective eyewash covers are properly positioned, clean, and intact.
• Check that the spouts are clean, and the bowl and/or sink drains are free of trash.
• Check that the flow is effective and continuous.
• Maintain an activation log for this weekly inspection on inspection tags. Contact EHS if inspection tags are needed.
• Ensure that problems identified during the activation are resolved as soon as possible. If the unit is found to be non-operational, and there are no other units in the space as back-up, all work with hazardous material that require an eyewash must cease until the unit is repaired.
• If the eyewash fails the inspection, contact EHS at 438-8325 or sysenvironmental@IllinoisState.edu. If the issue requires a plumber, have the departmental facilities coordinator or Building Maintenance Liaison submit a work request to Facilities Services.

Weekly Activation of Emergency Showers

Emergency showers must be activated weekly for a period long enough to verify operation and ensure that flushing fluid is available. This helps clean out any rust, scale deposits, or bacteria that may accumulate. This is the responsibility of the occupants of the space. The weekly activations should:

• Ensure that access to the shower is unobstructed.
• Visually inspect the shower to ensure that there are no broken parts, leaks, etc.
• Check that the flow is effective and continuous.
• Maintain an activation log for this weekly inspection on inspection tags. Contact EHS if inspection tags are needed.
• Ensure that problems identified during the activation are resolved as soon as possible. If the unit is found to be non-operational, and there are no other units in the space as back-up, all work with hazardous material that require a shower must cease until the unit is repaired.
• If the emergency shower failed the inspection, contact EHS at 438-8325 or sysenvironmental@IllinoisState.edu. If the issue requires a plumber, have the departmental facilities coordinator or Building Maintenance Liaison submit a work request to Facilities Services.

EHS Annual Testing

EHS will conduct annual inspection, testing, and/or maintenance of plumbed eyewashes, emergency showers, supplemental drench hoses, and self-contained eyewashes to ensure conformance with installation and operation guidelines in ANSI Z358.1. Findings will be communicated to the departmental owners, or their designees.

Emergency showers and plumbed or self-contained eyewashes must meet the following requirements of ANSI Z358.1.

1. The equipment is certified by the manufacturer as meeting the most recent edition of ANSI Z358.1.
2. The equipment has a controlled flow of flushing fluid that is provided to both eyes simultaneously (for eyewashes), which is not injurious to the user.
3. Valves on emergency eyewashes and showers are designed so that the flushing fluid remains on without requiring the use of the operator’s hands. The valve is designed to remain activated until intentionally shut off.
4. Emergency eyewash nozzles are protected from airborne contamination. Whatever means is used to afford such protection, its removal will not require a separate motion by the operator when activating the unit.
5. The equipment is in unobstructed and accessible locations that require no more than 10 seconds for the injured person to reach along an unobstructed pathway from the source of the hazard. A door in the pathway is considered an obstruction and no new spaces requiring access to the units shall be designed with this obstruction.
6. The equipment is located such that accessing the equipment should not require going up and down stairs or ramps.
7. The equipment location is identified with a highly visible sign that contains graphical symbols to communicate across language barriers. Signs are white and green to comply with safety instruction and equipment location sign standards (ANSI Z535 Safety Alerting Standards-NEMA, 2011).

Specific Plumbed or Self-Contained Eyewash Requirements

1. Eyewashes are installed so that they are capable of delivering to the eyes a minimum of 0.4 gpm (>3.0 gpm for eye/face washes) of flushing fluid for 15 minutes.
2. Eyewashes are installed with the water nozzles 33-53 inches from the floor and 6 inches minimum from the wall or nearest obstruction. If they are installed mounted on a counter, they are mounted within 6 inches of the front edge of the lab sink to allow the eyes to be placed in the path of water by simply standing near the unit. There is minimal reaching, bending, stretching or contorting required to reach the eyewash.
3. All new plumbed eyewashes have a drain as per the Illinois State Plumbing Code.
4. Eyewashes are not to be installed on a faucet spout as per the Illinois State Plumbing Code.
5. Eyewashes are installed to meet ADA accommodations where required. ADA accommodations are always required in teaching and instructional spaces (including makerspaces) and in areas where a request for accommodation has been made for a qualified disability. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Access (OEOA) can be contacted to request an accommodation. Contact OEOA at 309-438-3383 or equaloppourtunity@IllinoisState.edu for more information about ADA requirements and installation guidelines that are different from those listed above.

Specific Emergency Shower Requirements

1. Emergency showers are installed so that they are capable of delivering a minimum of 20 gpm of flushing fluid for 15 minutes.
2. Emergency shower heads are designed so that a flushing fluid column is provided not less than 82 inches and not more than 96 inches in height from the surface on which the user stands.
3. The shower head is not mounted flush or recessed with any constructed surfaces or partitions, and the center of the spray pattern should be located at least 16 inches from any obstruction.
4. The spray pattern shall have a minimum diameter of 20 inches at 60 inches above the surface on which the user stands.
5. All new plumbed and self-contained emergency showers have a floor drain as per the Illinois State Plumbing Code.
6. The manual actuator (triangle pull) is not located more than 69 inches above the surface on which the user stands. The manual actuator is free from obstruction for 18 to 24 inches in most directions.
7. Emergency showers are installed to meet ADA accommodations where required. ADA accommodations are always required in teaching and instructional spaces (including makerspaces) and in areas where a request for accommodation has been made for a qualified disability. The Office of Equal Opportunity and Access (OEOA) can be contacted to request an accommodation. Contact OEOA at 309-438-3383 or equaloppourtunity@IllinoisState.edu for more information about ADA requirements and installation guidelines that are different from those listed above.

Reporting and Testing New Installations

EHS must be notified of new emergency eyewash and shower equipment including units installed by Facilities Services and outside contractors. All new emergency equipment must meet the installation and operation guidelines in ANSI Z358.1 and Illinois State Plumbing Code. A full test to determine if it meets these guidelines must be performed after installation. Contact EHS to set up a time to perform this test.

Water Temperature

Tepid water must be supplied to emergency eyewash and shower equipment. Water temperature from 60-100°F is considered tepid. Generally, units without a mixing valve or tepid water loop will not maintain this temperature for 15 mins. This makes it difficult for a person to use the unit for the necessary length of time. Campus units should develop a plan to update older units so they have tepid water.

Units obstructed by doors

According to ANSI Z358.1, doors are obstructions in the path to emergency equipment. If buildings have their emergency equipment in the hallway or behind doors, a plan should be put in place to improve access to the equipment until it can be moved into the required rooms. Installing a closing mechanism that cannot be locked to impede access (i.e., panic hardware) to the equipment is one strategy for temporarily improving access to the equipment.

Emergency Shower Tester Kit is a simple testing tool kit used to check that emergency safety showers are operating correctly by capturing and directing water flow during routine inspections.

Combination unit – A unit that has a combination of an emergency shower and an eyewash.

Drench hose – A supplemental device consisting of a flexible hose connected to a flushing fluid supply and used to irrigate and flush face and body areas.

Emergency shower – A device specifically designed and intended to deliver flushing fluid in sufficient volume to cause that fluid to cascade over the entire body. Showers shall be capable of delivering flushing fluid at a minimum of 20 gallons per minute.

Personal eyewash – A supplemental device to plumbed or self-contained eyewashes, which can deliver immediate flushing fluid to the eyes or body. These do not replace the need for a plumbed or self-contained eyewash unit that meets the ANSI Z358.1 standard.

Plumbed eyewash – An eyewash unit permanently connected to a continual water supply that is capable of delivering a minimum of 0.4 gallons per minute (gpm) for 15 minutes to both eyes simultaneously at a velocity low enough to be non-injurious to the user.

Self-contained eyewash – A stand-alone eyewash device containing flushing fluid that is capable of delivering a minimum of 0.4 gpm for 15 minutes to both eyes simultaneously at a velocity low enough to be non-injurious to the user.