A farm-safety campaign launched during National Eye Health Week has put an easily overlooked risk back in view: everyday work can expose eyes to dust, debris, chemicals and machinery hazards.
The Wales Farm Safety Partnership and the Royal National Institute of Blind People are using the children’s book Nice to See You, Bob! to teach farm and eye safety. Farming Connect reported on 25 September that more than 1,200 copies had been distributed to primary schools across Wales, with a braille edition also available.
That is an education initiative, not a new regulation. Its practical message still applies to adults: eye protection works only when the hazard has been assessed, the correct control is chosen, the equipment fits and an emergency response is ready.
The Health and Safety Executive lists chemical or metal splash, dust, projectiles, gas, vapour and radiation among eye hazards. A pair of general safety glasses is therefore not a universal answer. Use these seven checks to examine the whole system before the next job starts.
1. Map the hazard by task, not job title
“Farm worker” is too broad for a useful eye-risk assessment. Break work into tasks and identify how material could reach the face.
Examples include grinding, drilling and wire brushing; clearing blockages; blowing down machinery; handling dusty bedding or feed; spraying and mixing chemicals; using veterinary products; working beneath a machine; cutting hedges; pressure washing; welding; and dealing with a hydraulic leak.
Record the material, likely direction, energy and exposure route. Fine dust needs a different response from a high-speed metal fragment. A corrosive liquid requires a different response from a branch at head height.
Include routine cleaning, maintenance and breakdown work. Those short, improvised jobs are often where normal guarding or planned procedures are bypassed.
2. Control the source before reaching for PPE
HSE guidance says PPE should be the last resort in the hierarchy of controls. First ask whether the hazard can be removed, substituted, enclosed or separated from the person.
That can mean stopping and isolating machinery before clearing it, keeping guards in place, using screens around grinding, controlling dust at source, improving ventilation, choosing a safer product or changing the working method.
PPE remains important where risk cannot be adequately controlled, but it should not compensate for missing guarding or a poor process. If the only instruction is “wear glasses”, the assessment is probably incomplete.
3. Match the protection to the hazard
HSE identifies safety spectacles, goggles, face screens, face shields and visors as different options. Selection must match the actual hazard-impact, dust, liquid splash, molten material or radiation-and fit the wearer.
Check the product marking, manufacturer’s instructions and the risk assessment. Ordinary prescription glasses are not automatically safety eyewear. A face shield may protect more of the face but may need to be used with suitable eye protection rather than replacing it.
For chemicals, consult the safety data sheet and product instructions. For welding or specialist radiation risks, use protection with the correct filter and shade. If there is any doubt, get competent advice rather than relying on appearance or a generic “safety” label.
4. Test fit and compatibility
Protection that is uncomfortable, loose or constantly fogging is unlikely to stay in place. Check each wearer rather than issuing one model to everyone.
Look for gaps, pressure points, restricted vision and movement. Test compatibility with prescription eyewear, respirators, hearing protection, helmets and other equipment used at the same time. One item should not break the seal, dislodge another or create a new blind spot.
Train people to put equipment on, adjust it and recognise when it is damaged. Supervisors should be able to spot poor fit without waiting for an incident.
5. Keep protection clean, visible and ready
Scratched lenses, contaminated goggles and perished straps turn a nominal control into weak protection. Store reusable equipment clean and dry, inspect it before use and follow the manufacturer’s replacement instructions.
Give every regular work area a sensible storage point. If eye protection travels in a tractor, pickup or van, use a clean, lidded compartment rather than leaving it loose on a seat with tools, dust or chemical containers. Keep spares where a damaged item would otherwise stop the job or tempt somebody to continue without protection.
Cab readiness is the natural Farm Packs connection, but the distinction matters: upholstery protection is not personal protective equipment. A seat cover does not protect eyesight, and a tidy-looking cab is not evidence that goggles are suitable, clean or within reach.
6. Rehearse the first response
Do not wait for an injury to decide where the eyewash is, who calls for help or which product information goes with the casualty.
The NHS advises immediate emergency help when a strong chemical enters the eye, something pierces it, a high-speed object strikes it, sight changes or there is severe pain. For a strong chemical, it says to keep rinsing with clean, non-hot water while waiting for medical help and to bring the container if possible. Its general washing guidance says to run plenty of water over the open eye for at least 20 minutes with a gentle flow.
Do not try to remove an object that has pierced the eye, and do not ask the injured person to drive. Keep emergency numbers, the site location and chemical information accessible. Check that eyewash equipment is in date, protected from contamination and adequate for the assessed hazard; a small bottle may not be enough for prolonged irrigation.
7. Include children, visitors and near misses
The Welsh campaign is aimed at children because farms combine homes, workplaces, machinery and public access in unusual ways. Education helps, but it does not replace separation and supervision.
Set clear safe areas for children and visitors. Keep them away from active machinery, maintenance, spraying, grinding and other work that could eject dust or debris. Provide suitable PPE where a risk assessment requires it, but do not use PPE as permission to enter an unsafe area.
Record near misses: a fragment caught by a visor, goggles fogging during a task, a chemical splash on the face shield, or damaged eyewear discovered before use. Review the control, not the wearer alone. The same report may reveal a guard, method, storage or training problem.
Make one improvement this week
Choose the farm task with the clearest eye hazard and walk it through from start to finish. Check source controls, equipment selection, fit, storage, supervision and emergency arrangements. Give each action an owner and completion date.
The new children’s campaign is a useful prompt because good habits are easier to build before an injury. For adults, the standard should be equally simple: understand the hazard, control it at source, wear the right protection and know exactly what to do if the control fails.
This article provides general information and does not replace a site-specific risk assessment, product instructions, safety data sheets, competent advice or medical guidance.
Sources
Farming Connect: New Bob Book Helps Children Protect Their Sight and Stay Safe on Farms - 25 September 2026
RNIB: See Cymru Differently - accessibility and eye health across rural Wales - accessed 28 September 2026
HSE: Using the right type of PPE - updated 9 February 2026
NHS: Eye injuries - reviewed 12 March 2026
