When it comes time for you to help keep your workers safe and your workplace compliant by installing safety showers, they must always be kept as compliant as possible. This is because safety showers, also known as emergency showers, are used to wash away any chemicals that come into contact with the skin or clothing.
This is a first line of defence against chemical exposure in the workplace, and thus, it’s important to understand compliance as per the Australian Standards.
What Are the Australian Standards?
These are a set of standards that help ensure workplace safety where hazardous chemicals are used. These guidelines help make sure that safety showers are safe to be used in the workplace and maintained correctly.
These are the basic requirements for a safety shower you should be aware of.
The Water Requirements
The minimum flow rate of water that is required by self-contained or plumbed-in safety shower equipment is 75.5 litres per minute. The flow rate needs to be fast enough to get rid of any chemicals without hurting the user. For fifteen minutes, this rate must be consistent and unaffected. To prevent additional injuries such as scalding or thermal burns, the Australian Standard for a safety shower also stipulates that the water be tepid.
The Valve Requirements
Valves must go from fully closed to open in less than one second. The user must be able to keep the valve open without using their hands. Then the user won’t have to worry about keeping the valves open because this mechanism will let them take off their clothes and wash their body thoroughly in running water.
The Actuator Requirements
Actuators must be easily found and recognised. They must remain open without the user’s hands once opened unless they are deliberately disabled. Actuator valves shouldn’t be higher than 1733 mm above where the average user would stand.
The Access Requirements
According to the Safety Shower Australian Standard, all safety showers must be accessible within fifteen metres or ten seconds of the potential chemical hazard. Safety showers must be on the same level as the danger, and the paths to them must be marked and unimpeded.
The Nozzle Requirements
The Nozzle must be protected and not contain any airborne contaminants. These include substances and microparticles from workplace chemicals.
The Signage Requirements
To ensure maximum visibility, the area surrounding the safety shower must be well-lit. According to Australian Standards, they must be marked with highly visible signs and comply with Safety Signs. These signs ought to be joined by images or charts that wouldn’t need language abilities to be perceived.
The Maintenance Requirements
According to the Safety Shower Australian Standard, designated laboratory technical officers are required to conduct safety shower tests every week. All eyewash stations and safety showers must also undergo annual flow testing to ensure that they can function properly in an emergency.
Training Requirements
All workers handling potentially hazardous materials must be trained on how to use the workplace’s safety showers.
Keep your Workplace Safe with Spill Station
When it comes to making sure your workplace is safe, Spill Station’s safety showers are top of the range, they’re made to last and be compliant, with all the necessary signage and instructions included. If you additionally require yearly audits to ensure the safety showers are working correctly or help with your risk assessment,https://www.spillstation.com.au/ can help you with this also. Contact them today and keep your workplace compliant with more peace of mind for you and your workers.
