SOPWAREHOUSESOP
Menu

Emergency Eyewash and Shower Station Placement, Use, and Inspection

Placement, emergency use, weekly activation, and documented inspection of emergency eyewash and drench shower stations wherever the eyes or body of a person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials in a warehouse, covering how those locations are identified from the safety data sheets and a walkdown of the chemical inventory, placement within the work area with an unobstructed path, signage and lighting, the difference between plumbed units and self-contained gravity-fed units and the limits of each, the 15 minute flush and what happens while the water runs, transporting the injured person to medical care with the safety data sheet, the weekly activation of plumbed units and the monthly and annual checks of self-contained units, the inspection tag and record, and taking a unit out of service with a tag and a temporary replacement.

Audience
Forklift battery charging and watering technicians, chemical storage and decant associates, sanitation and floor care associates who mix cleaning concentrates, spill response team members, area leads and supervisors in areas that hold corrosives, maintenance technicians who service and test the stations, and the safety program owner
Review cycle
annual
Last reviewed
2026-08-29
Revision
1

What is in the procedure

8 sections. Regulatory language is fixed and passes through verbatim. Sections marked customized get rewritten around your facility, your equipment, and your job titles.

  1. 01

    Purpose

    Fixed

    This procedure governs where emergency eyewash and drench shower stations are placed, how they are used the moment someone is splashed, and how they are activated, inspected, and documented so that they work on the day...

  2. 02

    Scope

    Customized

    This procedure applies to every emergency eyewash unit, eye and face wash unit, drench shower, and combination unit at this facility, whether plumbed to the potable water supply or self-contained and gravity-fed, and to...

  3. 03

    Responsibilities

    Customized

    The safety program owner identifies every location where the eyes or body may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, decides where stations are required, keeps the station inventory and the inspection records...

  4. 04

    Procedure: Deciding Where a Station Is Required and Placing It

    Customized

    1. Build the list of corrosive materials from the safety data sheets.

  5. 05

    Procedure: Using the Station After a Splash

    Fixed

    1. Move to the station immediately. Do not stop to find a supervisor, finish a task, remove gloves, or look up the product.

  6. 06

    Procedure: Weekly Activation, Periodic Checks, and Records

    Fixed

    The intervals in this section come from the ANSI/ISEA Z358.1 consensus standard adopted by this facility, not from OSHA regulatory text.

  7. 07

    Out of Service Units, Defects, and Temporary Coverage

    Customized

    Any associate who finds a station that is blocked, leaking, dripping, dry, low on fluid, past its fluid expiration date, missing a cap, delivering a weak, uneven, or scalding flow, unlit, unsigned, or damaged reports it...

  8. 08

    References

    Fixed

    29 CFR 1910.151 Medical services and first aid, paragraph (c) for suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body within the work area, and paragraph (b) for adequately trained first aid...

Regulatory references

Emergency Eyewash and Shower Station Placement, Use, and Inspection: 29 CFR 1910.151(c)

Every SOP generated from this template cites the paragraphs below, with a plain-language summary of what each one requires. Citations are informational and are not legal advice.

StandardTitleWhat it requires
29 CFR 1910.151(c)Medical services and first aid: quick drenching or flushing facilitiesWhere the eyes or body of any person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body must be provided within the work area for immediate emergency use. The duty is triggered by the possibility of exposure, so it is the corrosive materials present in an area, not the injury history of that area, that decides whether a facility is required. This paragraph sets provision, location within the work area, and immediate availability; it states no flow rate, water temperature, flushing duration, or inspection interval.
29 CFR 1910.151(b)Medical services and first aid: trained first aid providers and suppliesIn the absence of an infirmary, clinic, or hospital in near proximity to the workplace which is used for the treatment of all injured employees, a person or persons must be adequately trained to render first aid, and adequate first aid supplies must be readily available. The conditional clause matters: the trained responder duty attaches where prompt professional treatment is not close at hand. Applied here, the trained responder is the person who stays with someone under the drench shower, keeps the flush going, and manages the handoff to medical care.
29 CFR 1910.178(g)(2)Powered industrial trucks: facilities at battery changing and charging installationsAt battery changing and charging installations, facilities must be provided for flushing and neutralizing spilled electrolyte, for fire protection, for protecting charging apparatus from damage by trucks, and for adequate ventilation to disperse fumes from gassing batteries. This paragraph is about the installation and the spilled electrolyte, not about drenching a person; the duty to provide drenching and flushing facilities for people is the separate one at 1910.151(c). Applied here, this facility sites the battery area drenching and flushing equipment so that it serves the spill flushing and neutralizing duty of this paragraph and the personnel drenching duty of 1910.151(c) at the same time.
29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(8)Hazard communication: safety data sheets kept accessible in the workplaceThe employer must maintain copies of the required safety data sheets in the workplace for each hazardous chemical and must ensure they are readily accessible to employees during each work shift when they are in their work areas. Electronic access and other alternatives to paper copies are permitted as long as no barriers to immediate employee access are created. Applied here, the safety data sheet is what tells the facility which products are corrosive and therefore where a drenching and flushing facility is required, and it is the document that goes with an injured person to medical care.
29 CFR 1910.132(a)Personal protective equipment: applicationProtective equipment, including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers, must be provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical irritants encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation, or physical contact. Applied here, goggles, face shields, gloves, and aprons are the primary control that keeps corrosives off a person, and the eyewash and drench shower is the backup for the moment that control fails.

Compliance checklist

What an inspector looks for

  • Every area where the eyes or body may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, including battery charging and watering, chemical storage and decant, cleaning chemical mixing, and corrosive spill response, has a suitable facility for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body

    29 CFR 1910.151(c)

  • Each station is located within the work area it serves and is ready for immediate emergency use, with an unobstructed path that is never blocked by pallets, carts, drums, or staged product

    29 CFR 1910.151(c)

  • When a unit is tagged out of service, a suitable drenching and flushing facility is still provided in that work area, or corrosive work in the area stops until the unit is back in service

    29 CFR 1910.151(c)

  • The battery changing and charging installation has facilities for flushing and neutralizing spilled electrolyte, for fire protection, for protecting the charging apparatus from damage by trucks, and for adequate ventilation to disperse fumes from gassing batteries

    29 CFR 1910.178(g)(2)

  • Safety data sheets for every corrosive product are maintained in the workplace and are readily accessible to employees in their work areas during each work shift, with no barrier to immediate access

    29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(8)

  • Eye, face, hand, and body protective equipment is provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever chemical hazards can injure through absorption, inhalation, or physical contact

    29 CFR 1910.132(a)

  • Where no infirmary, clinic, or hospital used for the treatment of all injured employees is in near proximity, persons are adequately trained to render first aid, and adequate first aid supplies are readily available

    29 CFR 1910.151(b)

  • Plumbed eyewashes and drench showers are activated weekly to clear the line and verify hands-free valve operation, flow, and pattern, and each activation is dated and initialed on the station tag and in the inspection log (ANSI/ISEA Z358.1 practice adopted by this facility)

  • Self-contained units are checked at least monthly for fluid level, condition, and expiration date, the fluid is replaced by its expiration date and immediately after any use, and every unit gets a documented annual inspection (ANSI/ISEA Z358.1 practice adopted by this facility)

  • Every associate who works with corrosives can point to the nearest eyewash and drench shower without looking, and knows to flush for a full 15 minutes, remove contaminated clothing under the water, and use water only with no neutralizers

Related templates

All Emergency templates

Free trial

Generate this SOP for your facility

Answer the facility questionnaire once and this template comes back with your equipment, your titles, and your sign-off sheet attached.

Start free trial

14-day free trial, no credit card. Launch pricing locked for a year.

This page is informational and is not legal advice. Have a qualified safety professional review any procedure before it goes into service at your facility.