N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:26-12.5

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 6A:26-12.5 - Eye protection in schools

(a) Each district board of education shall require each student, staff member, and school visitor, including individuals present for evening adult-school programs, to wear appropriate eye protective devices while participating in educational activities and programs as defined in 6A:7-1.3 that use caustic or explosive chemicals or materials, hot liquids, or solids, or molten materials, or that engages in welding operations of any type, repairing, or servicing of vehicles, heat treatment or tempering of metals, the shaping of solid materials, laser-device operation and experimentation, or any similar process or activity is engaged in, exposure to which might have a tendency to cause damage to the eyes.

(b) The term "appropriate eye protective device" shall include plain or prescription lenses provided the lenses and other portions of the device meet or exceed the prescribed specifications for the device. Specifications for appropriate eye protection for various activities shall meet or exceed standards described in (b)1 and 2 below. The standards, with all subsequent amendments and supplements, are hereby adopted as rules and incorporated herein by reference.

1. American National Standard Practice for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection, ANSI Z87.1-1989.

2. American National Standard Practice for the Safe Use of Lasers, ANSI Z136.1-1986 and eye protective procedures recommended by the manufacturer of the laser device.

(c) The documents in (b)1 and 2 above are available for review at the Office of School Facilities, 200 River View Plaza, Trenton, New Jersey. The documents can be purchased from the American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036.

(d) Emergency eye wash fountains, or similar devices capable of a minimum 15 minutes continuous flow of eye-wash solution, shall be provided in classrooms, shops, laboratories, or other area where pupils or instructors are exposed to caustic materials that can cause damage to the eyes.

(e) The following types of eye protective devices shall be used to fit the designated activities or processes:

1. Caustic or explosive - Goggles, flexible fitting, hooded ventilation; add plastic-window face shield for severe exposure;

2. Dust-producing operations - Goggles, flexible fitting, hooded ventilation;

3. Electric arc welding - Welding helmet in combination with spectacles with eye cup or semi- or flat-fold side shields;

4. Oxyacetylene welding - Welding goggles, eye-cup type with tinted lenses; welding goggle, coverspec-type with tinted lenses or tinted plate lenses;

5. Hot liquids and gases - Goggles, flexible fitting, hooded ventilation; add plastic-window face shield for severe exposure;

6. Hot solids--Clear or tinted goggles or spectacles with side shields;

7. Molten materials - Clear or tinted goggles and plastic- or mesh-window face shield;

8. Heat treatment or tempering--Clear or tinted goggles or clear or tinted spectacles with side shields;

9. Glare operations--Tinted goggles; tinted spectacles with side shields or welding goggles, eye cup or coverspec type with tinted lenses or tinted plate lenses;

10. Shaping solid materials - Clear goggles, flexible or rigid body; clear spectacles with side shields; add plastic-window face shield for severe exposure;

11. Laser device operation or experimentation--Appropriate for specific hazard;

12. Vehicle repair or servicing - Clear goggles, flexible or rigid body; clear spectacles with side shields;

13. Other potentially eye-hazardous processes or activities - Appropriate for specific hazard.

(f) Each district board of education shall establish and implement a specific eye protective policy and program to assure:

1. No staff member, student or visitor shall be subjected to any hazardous environmental condition without appropriate eye protection;

2. The detection of eye hazardous conditions shall be continuous;

3. Eye protection devices shall be inspected regularly and adequately maintained;

4. Shared eye protective devices shall be disinfected between uses by a method prescribed by the local school medical inspector;

5. All eye protective devices shall meet or exceed the appropriate specifications for the various types of devices and suppliers of eye protective devices shall certify, in writing, that the devices meet or exceed said specifications;

6. Specific policy and procedures shall be established to deal with individuals who refuse to abide by established eye-safety practices and procedures;

7. The use of contact lenses shall be restricted in learning environments that entail exposure to chemical fumes, vapors, or splashes, intense heat, molten metals, or highly particulate atmospheres. When permitted, contact lenses shall be worn only in conjunction with appropriate eye protective devices, and the lens wearer shall be identified for appropriate emergency care in eye hazardous learning environments;

8. All spectacle-type eye protective devices shall have side shields of the eye-cup, semi- or flat-fold type; and

9. Pupils, staff members, or visitors wearing personal corrective eyewear shall be required to wear cover goggles or similar devices unless a competent authority can certify the personal eyewear meets or exceeds standards identified in (b) above.

(g) Each school district shall provide annual training and appropriate supplies and equipment to all school personnel responsible for implementing the eye-safety policies and program. The training shall cover all aspects of eye protection in schools as described in (a) through (f) above.

N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:26-12.5

Amended by R.2001 d.367, effective 10/1/2001.
See: 33 N.J.R. 1809(a), 33 N.J.R. 3482(a).
Rewrote (c); in (e), deleted heading "Potential Eye Hazard-Eye protective Device(s)"; and in (a) and (f)1, substituted "student" for "pupil".
Amended by R.2007 d.81, effective 3/19/2007.
See: 38 N.J.R. 4533(a), 39 N.J.R. 899(a).
In (a), updated the N.J.A.C. reference; and in (g), inserted "school" preceding "district".
Amended by R.2013 d.145, effective 12/16/2013.
See: 45 N.J.R. 1026(a), 45 N.J.R. 2557(a).
Rewrote (a), (c), (d), (f)7, and (f)9; in (e)1, (e)5, and (e)10, substituted "plastic-window" for "plastic window"; in (e)2, substituted "Dust-producing" for "Dust producing"; in (e)3, substituted "semi-" for "semi"; in (e)4, substituted "eye-cup" for "eye cup" and "coverspec-" for "coverspec"; in (e)7, substituted "plastic- or mesh-window" for "plastic or mesh window"; (e)12, substituted "Vehicle repair or servicing" for "Repair or servicing of vehicles"; in the introductory paragraph of (f), deleted "that" following "assure"; in (f)2, substituted "eye-hazardous" for "eye hazardous"; in (f)6, substituted "eye-safety" for "eye safety"; in (f)8, substituted "spectacle-type" for "spectacle type" and "eye-cup, semi-" for "eye cup, semi"; and in (g), substituted "eye-safety" for "eye safety".