Safety Shower Regulations
Download a printable version here.
What is a Safety Shower?
A safety shower is a plumbed-in fixture designed as a first response measure to wash-down personnel that have been splashed or doused in a hazardous liquid or substance.
What is an Eye Wash/Face Wash unit?
An eye wash is either a permanent plumbed-in fixture or mobile unit designed as a first response measure to wash the eyes and/or face of a person that has been splashed by a hazardous liquid or substance.
What is the difference between Safety Showers and Eye Wash Units?
Safety Showers drench and wash-down the whole body, whereas an eye/face wash are designed to rinse the eye and facial areas only.
Read more on Safety Showers and Eye Wash Units here.
Section 1: What is the NZ legislation around Safety Showers?
How many Safety Showers do I need?
The recommendation is that a safety shower and/or eye-wash unit is installed within 10 seconds walking time, from a location storing hazardous substances. This relates particularly to areas when chemicals are being decanted, mixed or processed and the risk of spills or exposure to personnel is possible.
It is our suggestion that there is at least one safety shower and/or eye-wash unit per chemical area, which for smaller sites may be limited to one location, yet for larger sites there may be multiple hazard locations, and therefore the need for multiple units.
What are the NZ requirements?
The Health & Safety at Work regulations (Hazardous Substances) govern the control of hazardous substances in your workplace. These regulations make it the duty of the PCBU (person in charge of business or undertaking), to take all practical steps to ensure that all risks when working with these substances are minimised or mitigated.
Having emergency shower or eye-wash capability in these risk areas, is seen as one such practical step that can be taken to achieve risk minimisation or mitigation.
When did this come into effect?
The Health & Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) regulations came into effect in December 2017.
What workplaces does this apply to?
These regulations apply to all workplaces that have hazardous substances on site, and where there is a real or potential risk of eye, face, or body damage, to personnel working with or around those substances.
How does this impact my workplace?
If hazardous substances are in use or storage at your workplace, then you are bound by the above regulations, to ensure they are managed correctly, and personnel are kept safe when working with or around them.
Where can I find more information?
For more information visit the Hazardous Substance section of the WorkSafe website here.
Section 2: What legislations do Hazero’s range of Safety Showers and Eye/Face Wash units meet?
What is the AS4775-2007 standard?NZ requirements for emergency eye wash and safety showers are governed by the Australian Standard AS4775.
What products meet this?
Where can I find more information?
You can find more details and the Standard in full here.
What is the ANSI Standard Z358.1-2009 standard?
The AS4775 Standard is closely aligned to the US Standard, known as ANSI Z358.1 and while not substantially different, does contain differences to address specific regional applications and integration with other Australian/New Zealand Standards.
What products meet this?
The Enware range of safety showers and eye-wash units meet this as well as the AS4775 Standard.
Where can I find more information?
You can find more details on the ANSI Standard here.
Section 3: Meeting NZ legislation
How Hazero can help you meet NZ legislation
Our role is to help NZ workplaces comply with the requirements, as quickly and practically as possible. To ensure your environment is made safer, we work alongside you to assess your situation and the hazardous substances involved and make simple but sound recommendations to ensure the risk of working with them is minimised.
Creating safer working environments
At Hazero our mission is zero hazards. Our extensive range of quality products will help you store, contain and control and clean-up dangerous goods and hazardous substances.
View our full range of Enware Safety Showers and Eye Wash Units here.
Need help creating a safer working environment? Contact our team today on 0800 688 844 or email us at info@hazero.co.nz. Our team are also available for on-site assessments across New Zealand, click here to request a site visit.
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