Safety is always a high priority – especially in environments where chemical spills are a potential threat. Emergency facewash, eyewash, and safety shower stations are vital in safeguarding personnel and adhering to OSHA and ANSI regulations. These safety measures are obligatory at any industrial site where employees may encounter hazardous substances, including but not limited to oil refineries, nuclear power plants, chemical and petrochemical facilities, and fertilizer plants.

Compliance Requirements for Emergency Wash Equipment

The OSHA requirements for emergency eyewashes and showers are vague, so the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has established a standard covering emergency eyewash and shower equipment – ANSI Z358.1. This standard is a widely accepted guideline for properly selecting, installing, operating, and maintaining emergency equipment.

According to this safety regulation, emergency drench showers and face/eyewash units must be placed within a ten-second travel time of any hazardous area to deliver tepid water to the user. Tepid water is defined as 60-100ºF (15.6-37.8ºC) and must be available for a minimum of 15 minutes at a continuous flow of 20 GPM at 30 PSI for showers and 0.3 GPM at 30 PSI for face/eyewash combo stations. Tepid water solutions for safety showers and eyewash stations are required in hazardous working environments such as industrial plants where facility workers are exposed to dangerous corrosive materials.

Tepid Water Solutions from ThermOmegaTech

ThermOmegaTech® offers various solutions for emergency shower and eyewash stations that immediately adjust the water output temperature to comply with safety shower standards.

Therm-O-Mix® Station

The Therm-O-Mix® Station is an instantaneous steam-fired water heater that uses only a facility’s existing steam and water supplies to produce tepid water. The unit is entirely mechanical and requires no source of electricity to function, making it ideal for explosion-proof industrial environments.

Therm-O-Mix® Station WWM | Tepid Water Mixing Valve

In facilities where steam is not readily available, the Therm-O-Mix® Station/Water-Water Mix (WWM) will provide tepid water to emergency safety showers and face/eyewash stations utilizing a facility’s existing hot and cold-water supply.

ESS Emergency Safety Shower Tepid Water Heater

The heavy-duty ESS tepid water heater is packaged with the Therm-O-Mix® Station/WWM to supply tepid water to your emergency drench system.

Protection Valves

Freeze protection and Scald protection valves should also be installed on all safety showers, facewash, and eyewash stations that could be at risk of extreme climates freezing or overheating the water lines. These valves ensure the water will not freeze and personnel remain protected from being scalded. 

ThermOmegaTech offers a variety of thermostatic temperature control products that enable the automatic delivery of tepid water, effectively mitigating the risks associated with electronic malfunctions and human errors. Using ThermOmegaTech’s product line, readily available tepid water solutions can be implemented, enhancing safety and compliance measures.