"Not all Safety Showers are born equal" Anonymous

When considering the right Emergency Safety Shower or Eyewash for your workplace it is critical that you get a unit that is going to work first time, everytime.

The Speakman range of Safety Showers and Emergency Eye Face Wash units have a few critical features that ensures better performance than its competitors:-

• The non clogging, self cleaning head ensures that the full shower head will work each and every time maximising the spray area for quicker decontamination when seconds count.
• The swirling impeller action of these heads, distributes floods of water without voids in the shower pattern to ensure complete body coverage.

Below is a quick 8 second video showing how the Impeller Action works and its benefits.

SE590A - 106 L Portable Eye and Body wash

In accordance with AS 4775 Safety Deluge Showers and Emergency Eyewashes are required to have the following flow rates:-

Eye washes :-     1.5 L per minute for 15 minutes

Safety Showers:-              76 L per minute for 15 minutes

Therefore the SE590A with a 45 or 106 L cylinder do meet the standards for eyewash, however not for a safety shower.

Therefore the Safety shower (on the 106 L cylinder) and the Drench Hose (on the 45L cylinder) can be described as Supplementary body washes intended as a support system, not in place of Primary Emergency Response Systems.

Below are some relevant parts of AS4775 to assist you in your decision:-

AS 4775 Emergency Eye wash & Shower Equipment

Section: 7 Plumbed and Self -Contained Eyewash Equipment

7.2 Performance of plumbed and self-contained eyewash units

When activated plumbed and self-contained eye wash equipment shall deliver flushing fluid to the eyes at a flow rate not less than 1.5 litres per minute for a minimum of 15 minutes. Where the fluids supply to plumbed equipment is time-limited, this shall be clearly indicated and quantified by prominent signage adjacent to the equipment.

Where eye wash equipment has a time-limited supply of flushing fluid, a risk assessment shall be conducted to identify whether a longer flow period is required. Such a risk assessment may address the nature and quantity of hazardous materials at the location, likely exposure scenarios, distance to emergency response and emergency facilities and so on.

Appendix F1       Personal Eyewash Units

The first seconds following an eye injury are often critical to keeping eye injury to a minimum. A personal eye wash may be kept in the immediate vicinity of employees working in a potentially hazardous area. The main purpose of these units is to supply immediate flushing. With this accomplished, the injured individual should then proceed to a plumbed or self-contained eye wash and flush the eyes for the required 15 minutes.

Speakman Emergency Eye Face Wash

We receive a few enquiries asking whether a Emergency Safety Shower or Eye wash needs its own dedicated water supply line.

The answer is no, as long as it meets the minimum standards below, however it is also worthwhile to consider the following points when planning the pipeline to your Safety Shower or Eye Wash.

The minimum requirement for a combination emergency eye wash and safety shower is   25 mm, 1 inch pipe.

A larger diameter may depend on the following:

• Distance from the mains water;
• Is the pipe straight,  water volume, pressure will be effected by pipe bends
• Is the water supply used for other processes
• If it is a long distance you may consider using a 32 mm pipe.

We suggest you check the water flow in existing line,  looking for 120 Lt/minute.

There is no requirement for a dedicated water supply to the safety shower.

Let us know if you require any additional information for our Speakman Safety Shower and Emergency Eye wash range.

This is a video of the new look, style, design, features and benefits of the Justrite 30 L Polyethylene Corrosive Chemical Cabinet.

Available from BIG Safety and shipped throughout Australia.

Here is a video putting a Justrite Flammable Cabinet through a 90 minute fire test to see how it performs.

The Justrite flammable cabinet did an excellent job. The critical function it performed was protecting the contents stored in the cabinet. The cabinet allowed at least 90 minutes for:-

1. staff members to safely evacuate the building and
2. it provided time for emergency services to extinguish the fire before the contents of the cabinet added more damage to the property.

Speakman Safety Shower & Eye wash Green Fluorescent Light

This is a common question we are asked regarding safety lighting for Emergency Safety Showers and Eye wash units.

Please see below the Australian Standards AS4775 requirement for lighting

The three sections require the equipment be identified by signage and the area is well illuminated:

The use of a green light is not stipulated in this Australian Standard, although it is used to identify the equipment location, This is more based around risk assessment, the colour green is associated with a medical facility. The green light readily identifies to users where the safety shower or eye wash is located for ease of finding in an emergency.

A green light doesn’t illuminate the area. The area still needs to be well illuminated.

AS4775-2007 Emergency eye wash and shower equipment

6.6 Location       (Safety Shower)

Emergency safety showers shall be positioned in accessible locations that require no more than 10 seconds to reach. The shower shall be located on the same level as the hazard and the path of travel shall be free of obstructions that may inhibit the immediate use of the equipment. Where the possibility of temperature extremes exists, equipment shall be protected from their effects both with respect to the equipment’s operation and the flushing fluid.

Each emergency safety shower location shall be identified with a highly visible sign complying with AS1319 positioned so the sign is visible throughout the area served by the shower.

The area around the emergency shower shall be well illuminated.

7.4 Location       (Eye Wash)

Emergency Eye washes shall be positioned in accessible locations that require no more than 10 seconds to reach. The eye wash unit shall be located on the same level as the hazard and the path of travel shall be free of obstructions that may inhibit the immediate use of the equipment. For a strong acid or strong caustic, the eyewash should be located immediately adjacent to the hazard.

Each eyewash location shall be identified with a highly visible sign complying with AS1319 positioned so the sign is visible throughout the area served by the shower.

The area around the eyewash shall be well illuminated.

8.4 Location       (Eye Face Wash)

Emergency Eye/face washes shall be positioned in accessible locations that require no more than 10 seconds to reach. The eye/face  wash unit shall be located on the same level as the hazard and the path of travel shall be free of obstructions that may inhibit the immediate use of the equipment. For a strong acid or strong caustic, the eye/face wash should be located immediately adjacent to the hazard.

Each safety eye/face wash location shall be identified with a highly visible sign complying with AS1319 positioned so the sign is visible throughout the area served by the shower.

The area around the eyewash shall be well illuminated.

Til next time, Keep Safe

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This offer is available on our full range of Justrite Flammable Cabinets, Chemical Cabinets as well as the range of Speakman Safety Showers and Emergency Eye Wash units.

Summary of the ebay conditions are:-

1. The discount is 15% from the price of the items (Freight and Shipping not included)
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The full eBay terms and conditions can be found here:- http://pages2.ebay.com.au/Buyer_coupons/code15?_trkparms=clkid%3D8404760692909781371

If you have any questions please let us know.

Speakman Portable Safety Eye & Body Wash

There is some confusion in the marketplace regarding whether the Speakman SE509 Portable Personal Wash meets the Australian Standards AS4775. The answer is both Yes and No.

The SE509 personal body wash doesn’t meet the requirements of the section: 7 (eye wash) of AS4775, the flow rate is approx. 1.5 litres per minute but it flows for only 2-3 minutes.

An eyewash is required to flow for 15 minutes.

The SE509 is referred to as a personal wash and is referenced in the following section of AS4775.

AS4775 Emergency eyewash and shower equipment

Section: 11

11.1 General

The supplemental equipment listed below shall provide immediate flushing to support plumbed and self-contained equipment but shall not replace them.

11.2        Personal wash units

11.2.1    Performance of personal wash units

Personal wash units shall have the capacity to deliver immediate flushing fluid without being injurious to the user. See Paragraph F6.

AS4775 Emergency eyewash and shower equipment

 F1           Personal Eyewash Units

The first seconds following an eye injury are often critical to keeping eye injury to a minimum. A personal eye wash may be kept in the immediate vicinity of employees working in a potentially hazardous area. The main purpose of these units is to supply immediate flushing. With this accomplished, the injured individual should then proceed to a plumbed or self-contained eye wash and flush the eyes for the required 15 minutes.

We hope this helps clarify some of the confusion in the marketplace.

All the best and Keep Safe.

This is a great question that should be asked by all clients looking to get a Safety shower or eyewash for their site.

If you live in Australia, you have no doubt felt the heat and damage the Australian Sun can do. You can view Youtube clips on frying eggs in Melbourne  on a Summers day, using just the sun. This should make you aware of the potential danger of water that has been laying around in the sun all day.

Scalding water is a real danger in a Safety shower or eyewash where the user needs an emergency stream of water within 1 second to flush the affected area. Scald Protection Valves mitigate this risk when the water temperature rises above safe limits, and a danger of scalding exists, the thermal actuator modulates the valve open. A small sample of the water from the pipe system then flows past the sensor. If the water is above the acceptable range, the valve will continue to modulate open until the over temperature water is eliminated.

There are a number of points to consider to determine if you should get a Scald Protection Valve for your emergency safety shower or eyewash.

1. The environment where the Safety shower or eyewash will be used. What are the temperatures on the hottest days of the year? You need to prepare for worst case.
2. Where will the pipe work leading to the unit be? eg. Is the pipework laying on top of the ground, is the pipework underground, is it insulated. Keep in mind that even if the pipework is underground, the water in the shower unit can still heat up and require insulation or a scald protection valve.
3. Is the shower (and pipework) protected from the sun? eg. in a continually shady location, under cover, inside.

Please remember that this advice is general only and does not take your specific site requirements into consideration.

To find out more about the Scald Protection Valves we can supply with our range of Speakman Safety showers and eye wash range please review the following document:-

big-safety-scald-protection-valve

How to safely store small quantities of Flammable and Corrosive goods.

When risk assessing the separation distances between chemical stores the following guidelines should be referenced:

AS1940 Table: 2.1

AS3780 Table: 2.1

AS1940 Table 4.1 determines the separation distance based on volume:

AS1940 The storage and handling of Flammable and Combustible Liquids:

1.4.46 On-site protected place

A building where people are employed within the property boundary, including offices, warehouses, manufacturing or processing areas, amenities and other dangerous goods stores where quantities exceed minor storage.

4.3 LOCATION AND SEPARATION DISTANCES

 4.3.1 Separation distances for package stores

When determining the location for a package store, factors such as infrastructure, firefighting resources, fire brigade access and automation need to be considered.

A store for packages of flammable or combustible liquids shall be located in accordance with the following requirements:

(b) The minimum separation distance to any on-site protected place shall be as given in Table 4.1, but need not exceed—

(i) 15 m for flammable liquids

Table: 4.1

Allowable:           Packaging Group I & II    Quantities below 100 litres        Unrestricted

Packaging Group III         Quantities below 500 litres         Unrestricted

AS3780 The storage and Handling of Corrosive Substances:

1.4.19 On-site protected place

A building where people are employed within the property boundary of the installation, including warehouses, manufacturing or processing areas, amenities or other dangerous goods stores where quantities exceed minor storage.

Table: 4.1

Note:    Where separation distances are applied to on-site protected places that are an integral part of the storage, processing or handling of corrosive substances, such distances may be reduced subject to appropriate risk identification, assessment and control.