UFC 3-420-01
25 October 2004
APPENDIX D
DESIGN GUIDANCE FOR EMERGENCY SHOWER
AND EYEWASH STATIONS
NOTE: The format of English and metric unit measurements in Appendix D follow the
format of ANSI Z358.1 Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment.
1.
Emergency Shower and Eyewash Stations (ES/EWS) Provide ES/EWS
meeting ANSI Z 358.1 Emergency Eyewash and Shower Equipment where required by
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations or by other
competent authority, such as UFC's, Military Handbooks, or Design Manuals. Consult
with the local station and engineering authorities, including the process, environmental,
and safety engineers, and the Industrial Hygienist about ES/EWS locations, materials
present, waste treatment systems available, and permits required. Locate ES/EWS as
close to the hazard as possible, within 10 to 20 ft (3 to 6 m) for highly corrosive
chemicals, but not more than 10 seconds or 100 feet (30 m) of unobstructed travel
away, whichever is lesser.
a. For personnel protection within water-reactive hazardous materials storage
and handling areas, provide ANSI Z 78.1 Occupational Eye and Face Protection
chemical splash goggles. Consider providing portable ANSI Z 358.1 personal eyewash
protection for use within the water-reactive area. Provide ES/EWS immediately outside
the water-reactive area, but not more than the 10 seconds or 100 feet (30 m) away from
the work location. Ensure water from ES/EWS will not enter the water-reactive area;
this may require provision of partitions, walls, berms, trenches, or curbs. The personal
eyewash should be of the smallest reasonable volume necessary to enable initial
flushing on the way to the ES/EWS, to minimize the water-reactive hazard due to
spillage of the flushing fluid. A water-reactive material spill is the most probable cause
of the need for flushing, and the spillage of the flushing fluid provides the other chemical
needed to initiate the reaction. Carefully consider whether to provide personal eyewash
or not, and document the decision analysis. Personal eyewash fluid presence may
increase the risk of a water-reactive chemical event due to risk of accidental personal
eyewash fluid spill, and due to valid usage of personal eyewash. Water-reactive
materials are defined in UFC 4-451-10N Design: Hazardous Waste Storage and UFC 4-
442-01N Design: Covered Storage.
2. ALARMS - Provide a water flow-initiated alarm for each ES/EWS. For locations
where potable water is not available, provide personal eyewash protection and a
manually initiated alarm. Provide a local audible signal device, a silencing switch, and a
flashing strobe light for each ES/EWS and for each manual alarm, and optionally
provide central reporting of the alarm to a 24 hour per day manned location. Alarm
installations should be waterproof per NEMA Class 3. ES/EWS alarm systems in
hazardous (classified) locations, per National Electric Code, should be listed and
labeled for that purpose. Alarm audible signal devices should have a distinct sound,
different from other alarms in this and adjacent facilities. Mount alarm audible signal
device, silencing switch, and strobe light on wall or ES/EWS column, immediately above
D-1
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