Emergency Safety Shower Units are covered by two key standards. These are the American National Standards Institute standard, ANSI Z358.1-2014, which is also the internationally recognised standard for emergency safety shower units. They also come under the European standard, EN15154. These two standards are broadly similar.

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What are The Key Requirements for Emergency Safety Shower Units Under These Standards?

 

Emergency Safety Shower Water Flow Rate

 

Under both ANSI and EN standards, emergency safety showers must be able to provide an uninterrupted flow of water for a minimum of 15 minutes at a flow rate of 76 litres per minute. This is in order to ensure that effective and thorough decontamination can take place.

 

Emergency Safety Shower Water Temperature Must Be Tepid

 

Both ANSI and EN standards for emergency safety shower units stipulate that the water supplied to such units must be of a tepid temperature in order to ensure that those using the showers are kept comfortable and don’t leave the unit too early in the event of it being too hot or too cold. There is a (very) slight difference between the two standards in terms of the definition of ‘tepid’; ANSI stipulates 16-38c whereas the EN standard for tepid water is 15-37c.

 

Emergency Safety Shower Activation

 

EN and ANSI standards stipulate that emergency safety shower equipment must activate within 1 second of a valve being opened. Emergency safety showers and eye wash stations should be activated at least once a week in order to keep them free of built-up sediment and bacteria. Diffusers and nozzles should be kept free of debris and other potential contaminants. 

 

The Positioning of Emergency Safety Shower Units

 

Emergency Safety Shower Units must be positioned within 10 seconds of reach of a potential hazard, and access should be unhindered (bearing in mind that a user’s sight may be compromised when they need to use one). They should be lit and signposted. The EN standard suggests that they be placed 20m from the hazard, whereas the ANSI standard doesn’t get into specific spatial measurements.