Eye Wash and Emergency Shower Stations
Construction and general industry · Ver en español
Talking points
- Eye wash stations and emergency showers must be within 10 seconds of travel from any area where corrosive chemicals are used — that is roughly 55 feet on a level surface.
- Plumbed eye wash stations must deliver tepid (60-100°F) water at 0.4 gallons per minute for at least 15 minutes. Squeeze bottles are NOT a substitute for a plumbed or gravity-fed unit.
- Activate and flush eye wash stations weekly to clear stagnant water from the line. Stagnant water breeds bacteria that can cause severe eye infections.
- Emergency showers must deliver at least 20 gallons per minute and be accessible without obstructions. Test them at least annually, preferably quarterly.
- Know the location of every eye wash and shower in your work area before you start working with chemicals — not after a splash occurs.
Ask the crew
Can everyone point to the nearest eye wash station from where they are standing right now — and has it been flushed this week?
Standards this talk is built on
A toolbox talk is a short safety briefing. It supports the training a standard requires; it does not replace it.
Run this talk with your crew and keep the record
In Jobsite, workers sign in on their phones in English or Spanish, and you keep who attended, when, and where, with every other talk your crew has had.
Using an AI assistant? Jobsite's free MCP server serves this library, with OSHA rule text, no sign-in: https://jobsitecerts.com/api/mcp/public (/mcp)
Sign-in sheet
Print this page to collect signatures, or run the talk in Jobsite and workers sign in on their phones.
| Name | Signature | Date |
|---|---|---|
© Jobsite. Free to read aloud, print and use in your own crew's safety meetings. Republishing, reselling or bulk-copying these talks is not permitted.