During a recent delivery of cement to a concrete site, a contractor suffered a spillage at the end of discharge whilst he disconnected his pipe from the silo outlet, resulting in powder in eye.

The eye was flushed out on site and the operative was taken to hospital.

At the time of the incident the injured person was not wearing safety glasses, as he had decided to remove these at the end of discharge before disconnecting from silo pipe.

• Toolbox Talk to be given to relevant personnel on site
• Site staff to monitor closely if tanker drivers are following procedures
• Enforce that the appropriate face fit eye protection is being worn whilst discharging powders
• Review eye wash stations to ensure products are in date

The image below is an example of the type of face fit safety goggles that must be worn during powder deliveries.