In Australia, any workplace that has hazardous chemicals or substances as well as contaminants on site, will need to have safety showers and eyewash stations ready to go if swift decontamination is needed.
This decontamination is vital as the first 10-15 seconds of being exposed to a hazardous substance or chemical is critical, and this safety shower can allow for flushing the area quickly to mitigate further risks from occurring. But for the whole thing to work well, you need to be careful when building safety showers, installing them and then ensuring they remain compliant.
So, let’s look at what you need to do to remain compliant and how to maintain and install a safety shower.
What Needs To Be Done To Remain Compliant?
In order to be compliant with your safety showers, the following must be done.
- Safety showers should be on the same level as the hazard with no stairs or ramps.
- Safety showers must be accessible within 10 seconds of contamination.
- There should be no obstructions between the hazard and the shower.
- The safety shower should be visible at all times with the correct signage.
- The shower must use tepid water at a specific flushing rate to be effective & not have irritation.
- The shower must not be misused as a personal wash station or changing room.
Do You Need A Plumber?
Technically speaking, you do not need a plumber to help install the shower. But as it’s a piece of equipment that needs to be connected to a water main in order to be compliant, it’s smart to consider calling a plumber, or at least someone who is trained in installing the safety showers correctly. In addition to the above, as water temperature is vital to safe flushing, it’s wise to call people who are in the know.
How Much Maintenance is Needed?
In order to make sure that safety showers are in the correct working order, they need to be tested once a week for functionality and to check for any contamination by debris or dust. This should be recorded for posterity.
In addition to this, once a year a full test and maintenance audit must be done, and the shower must be tagged. This should be done by someone with the appropriate training, but the weekly activation can be done by trained staff.
Who Can Help with Installation and Testing?
When you read the above, you can easily start to get overwhelmed, after all, safety shower maintenance, audits and installation are all things that take specific knowledge to do correctly, and if you’re caught doing them incorrectly you can wind up with a fine or legal action taken.
But that doesn’t mean you’re in it alone. Spill Station Australia is here to help. For decades, they have been Australia’s leading distributor and educator when it comes to workplace safety. Their knowledge means they can support you with yearly testing of your safety shower and guidance about installation if you need it.
Contact them now and get your safety shower up to standard! https://www.spillstation.com.au/
