1. Why does my business need an safety shower/ emergency shower?

Although not always easily recognizable, hazardous materials or substances that pose a serious hazard to your employees’ eyes and body are lurking in many different workplaces. When safety goggles and safety clothing fail to protect and someone in your organization has been accidentally exposed to a hazardous substance, the first 10 to 15 seconds are critical to avoid major bodily harm. But if the next ‘washing station’ is the bathroom or toilet, you’re in big trouble. For this reason, it is crucial to have a suitable emergency plan in place with emergency and eyewash stations in close proximity. Safety showers/ Emergency showers and eye showers help by enabling on-site decontamination for your employees.

ATTENTION: Ordinary showers or sinks are not a substitute.
In an emergency, the most important thing is to immediately, effectively and sufficiently flush the injuries with the right amount of water. Only specially designed safety showers/ emergency showers can achieve this performance due to the high volume flow and the corresponding flow rate. Additional functions, such as specially designed eye-shower heads, also make it easier, for example, to keep the eyelids open so that the eyes can be rinsed out effectively.

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2. Which industries usually need a safety shower?

• Refineries

• Oil and gas industry

• Chemical processing plants

• Power generation plants

• Pharmaceutical manufacturing

• Agricultural operations

• Chemical testing facilities

• Sanitation

• Construction and remediation work with high dust loads

• Food processing industry

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3. What products does MEES offer?

• Eye Washes

• Eye & Face Washes

• Safety Showers

• Safety Stations / Combinations showers

• Safety Stations with Mixing Valves

• Outdoor Safety Showers (Heated or Insulated)

• Tank Showers

•  Alarms

• Safety Shower Accessories

• Shower Cabins

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4. How to choose a suitable Safety showers/ Emergency showers?

In order to select a suitable emergency shower, you should start by uncovering potential sources of danger in the various areas of the company. Potential hazards include, for example, dusty conditions, hazardous chemicals, and combustible materials. Eye washes, eye and face washes and safety showers should be selected according to these circumstances.
When choosing a safety shower/ emergency shower, the exact location where the shower is to be installed is also crucial. If space is limited for an emergency shower, ceiling or wall mounted emergency showers are best for your facility. If more space is available, you can also purchase a floor-mounted safety shower with a protective frame, which will provide more support to the user. Safety showers with shower cubicles offer the user more privacy in the event that clothing must be removed during use in order to be able to clean injuries better.

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5. Which emergency shower is suitable for which situation?

Eye washes: Eye washes are needed for spills, splashes, dust or debris that affect only the eyes. During use, the water flow should be controlled for both eyes at the same time. The eyes should be rinsed continuously for 15 minutes with tepid water.
Eye and face washes: Eye and face washes are needed when the entire face is affected by spills, splashes, dust and dirt. Eyes and face can be rinsed at the same time with this type of safety shower. The rinsing time of the face and eyes is 15 minutes.
Safety shower/ emergency shower: Whole-body safety showers are used when larger areas of the body are at risk. The flushing time for the body is 15 minutes. However, the eyes cannot be sufficiently cleaned with it. In the event that the body and eyes are affected, combination showers are recommended.
Safety stations: Safety stations consist of a combination of eyewash and safety shower. They are used when the body and eyes are at risk. The flushing time is 15 minutes.
Tank showers: Tank showers are used when there is no reliable water supply. They consist of a tank, which is located above the head, eye and body wash. The flushing time is 15 minutes.

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Various adaptations of safety shower/ emergency shower:

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With chiller: The additional chiller on the safety shower/ emergency shower cools water in extreme heat where temperatures soar around 55° C. Water that is too warm could burn the injured person.

Insulated: The insulating material keeps the water warm in extreme cold with temperatures around -40°C. Water that is too cold can cause hypothermia or thermal shock.

Indoor: If the workplace is inside a building- in laboratories, for example.

Outdoor: Required in outdoor work environments, eg in construction, at sewage treatment plants or in oil refineries. May have to be adapted to extreme temperatures (see above).

Mobile: Required in locations that do not have access to water and/or when the safety shower needs to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances in a facility. Mobile safety showers have the advantage of offering flexibility for today’s dynamic work environments.

Plumbed-In: A plumbed-in safety shower is connected to a permanent source of potable water at a fixed location that provides sufficient flow and pressure.

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6. Which material is recommended for which condition?

Galvanized Steel: A galvanized steel safety shower/ emergency shower is best suited for companies located on-shore in a dry climate, as it tends to rust if the climate is too humid. Galvanized steel is also the more sustainable option compared to plastic because it is recyclable.

Stainless steel: Safety shower/ Emergency shower made of stainless steel, like safety showers made of galvanized steel, are sustainable because they are also recyclable. However, stainless steel showers are better suited to companies that work offshore or are in a humid climate as stainless steel does not rust.

Plastic: Plastic safety showers are suitable for any work area. In addition, plastic is the cheaper material. However, plastic risks warping if exposed to excessively high temperatures and it is not eco-friendly.

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7. What are the regulations regarding safety shower/ emergency shower?

When choosing the right emergency shower, you should also pay attention to the various regulations and guidelines of the respective country in which the emergency shower is used. To ensure that all specifications are met, our products follows these compliance’s:

European Standard for Emergency Safety Showers EN 15154 (European Committee for Standardization) and American National Standard for Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment ANSI/ISEA Norm Z358.1-latest edition (American National Standard Institute)

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8. What is important information my employees need to know about the safety shower/ emergency shower(s)?

To make it easier for your employees to find the safety shower/ emergency shower in an emergency, explain to them exactly where the shower and eyewash is located after installation. If necessary, hang an emergency plan at the respective workplace. Furthermore, inform your employees exactly in which cases the emergency shower should be used for first aid. A final very important aspect that your employees need to know is how to operate the safety shower. With this important information, delays can be avoided in an emergency.

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9. How often does the safety shower/ emergency shower need to be serviced?

Emergency showers require annual maintenance. Preferably, this should be done by a specialist. In addition, a functional test must be carried out monthly so that there are no problems with operation in an emergency. Eye showers should usually be tested more frequently to reduce the risk of contamination.

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10. How do I avoid bacterial growth on the safety shower?

Emergency showers located in places without a constant flow of drinking water are at risk of bacterial growth from stagnant water. Emergency showers can then serve as breeding grounds for bacteria such as Acanthamoeba (causes eye infections), Pseudomonas (causes eye, skin, muscle, lung and other tissue infections) and Legionella (causes serious lung infections).

In order to be able to avoid growth, consider the following aspects:

• Activate the eye and safety shower weekly to avoid water stagnation
• Maintain your safety shower regularly (annually by an expert)
• Create a maintenance and service plan, to ensure cleanliness and contamination-free pipes/tanks/shower components. It is preferred if this is done by an expert.
• Create a risk assessment profile for the water system to be able to control legionella growth