Watch your contacts
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says RM1 F
• The hazards faced by contact lens wearers when welding or using heavy duty switch gear has been highlighted in a bulletin from the Retail Motor Industry Federation. It reports on two cases where lenses have stuck to a users' eye resulting in partial blindness.
One wearer had lowered his welding shield to position an electrode when he saw a flash caused by accidentally touching the workpiece; the other was operating heavy duty switchgear when the In each case the wearer was unaware of any problem until he removed the lens and it tore away part of the cornea resulting in blindness in the affected eye.
The problem is believed to be caused by microwaves created by the arc drying out the fluid between the lens and the eye. These incidents are becoming more common: the RMI advises contact lens wearers to revert to wearing spectacles as well as their protective goggles when welding.