17 Feb Handle Glass Safely

Handle Glass Safely

Glass is common in many workplaces, but broken or damaged glass can cause serious cuts, puncture wounds, eye injuries, and exposure to hazardous or infectious materials. Safe storage, handling, cleanup, and disposal practices can prevent most glass-related injuries.

Safe Handling and Storage

When working with glass:

• Handle glass carefully and avoid unnecessary force or impact.
• Inspect glass containers and materials for cracks, chips, or other damage before handling.
• Keep glass containers away from the edges of workbenches, shelves, machines, and other surfaces where they could be knocked off.
• Do not store glass containers on the floor or in unstable locations.
• Do not throw glass, whether broken or intact, into waste containers.
• Protect glass light fixtures and similar installations from accidental impact where breakage could expose employees to falling glass.
• Never attempt to catch falling glass. Step away and allow it to fall.

Personal Protective Equipment

Select PPE based on the hazards of the task. Depending on the work, appropriate protection may include:

• Safety glasses with side protection.
• Goggles or a face shield when there is a significant risk of flying fragments or splashes.
• Cut-resistant gloves appropriate for handling glass.
• Protective clothing when handling large sheets or significant quantities of glass.
• Appropriate footwear to protect against dropped or broken glass.

Remember that ordinary work gloves may not provide adequate protection against sharp glass edges.

Cleaning Up Broken Glass

Never pick up broken glass with your bare hands, even when the pieces appear large and easy to handle.

When glass breaks:

1. Keep other employees away from the area until cleanup is complete.
2. Post a warning sign or barricade the area when immediate cleanup is not possible.
3. Wear appropriate gloves and eye protection.
4. Pick up large pieces using tongs, forceps, cardboard, or another suitable tool rather than your hands.
5. Sweep smaller pieces into a dustpan using a brush or broom.
6. Carefully inspect the surrounding area for remaining fragments.
7. Place broken glass directly into an appropriate puncture-resistant container.

Do not use cloth towels, sponges, or ordinary mops to collect glass fragments. Small pieces can become embedded in these materials and later injure someone handling them.

If liquids are present with the broken glass, use a suitable squeegee, broom, or other cleanup equipment that allows you to keep your hands away from the fragments.

Disposal

Broken glass should never be placed loose in an ordinary trash bag, wastebasket, or garbage container where it could cut employees handling the waste.

Instead:

• Place broken glass in a designated, rigid, puncture-resistant container.
• Clearly identify the container as containing broken glass.
• Keep broken glass separate from ordinary waste when required by workplace procedures.
• Never compact broken glass by hand or push it down into a waste container.
• Follow additional hazardous-material, biohazard, or sharps disposal procedures when the glass is contaminated with chemicals, blood, or other potentially hazardous substances.

Contaminated glass may require special handling and must not automatically be treated as ordinary broken-glass waste.

If an Injury Occurs

If someone is cut by glass:

• Stop work and obtain appropriate first aid.
• Do not reach into a wound or attempt to remove deeply embedded glass.
• Control bleeding using appropriate first-aid procedures.
• Obtain medical attention for deep cuts, uncontrolled bleeding, embedded glass, eye injuries, or other serious injuries.
• Report the injury according to company procedures.

Remember

Broken glass can cause severe injuries in seconds. Never use your bare hands to pick it up. Wear appropriate PPE, use tools to collect fragments, and dispose of broken glass in a puncture-resistant container.