Eye protection; a change in standards
The standards for eye protection have recently been reviewed and updated to an ISO (worldwide) standard.
Although the new standard is more demanding than previously, there is no need to replace your current stocks.
Suppliers will start to sell eye protection to the new standard during the autumn term, but they can still sell existing stocks to the old standard. Therefore, the likelihood is you will end up with a mixed stock of eye protection to either standard for a while.
Safety glasses were labelled EN166 and will in future be labelled EN ISO 16321 C Safety goggles were labelled EN 166 3 and will in future be labelled EN ISO 16321 3
Existing products certified to EN 166 can continue to be sold until the expiry of their certification, up to a maximum of five years from the date of issue.
For example, if a product is certified to EN 166 before the November deadline, it may remain valid until late 2029 depending on the certificate’s issue date. BSI have a
blog about this change.
This information is simply to inform you about the upcoming changes. For a while, both standards will be in use.
You do NOT need to replace your current stock of eye protection — you can continue using them until they are worn out. There is no set deadline for users, so just be aware that you will have a mixture of both standards
