Poor Judgment

He worked for a sign shop in the upper mid-West; his job was to weld the big signposts. The sign for the hotel was completed and the signposts now needed to be welded together. The welding would be done at the site where the sign was to be installed. He was in a hurry to load the supplies he would need for this particular job. Upon arriving at the job location he discovered that he had failed to put in his welding helmet for arc welding but he had welding goggles with him for gas welding. It was just a small job and wouldn't take long, so he use the goggles even though the lenses were not rated for arc welding…did not have the "UV" protection. Because of this poor judgment, he did burn his eyes.
Eye injuries account for one-quarter of all welding injures, making them by far the most common injury for welders.
The best way to control eye injuries is also the most simple: proper selection and use of eye protection. Helmets alone do not offer enough protection. Welders should wear goggles or safety glasses with sideshields under welding helmets and always wear goggles or other suitable eye protection when gas welding or oxygen cutting. Goggles provide better protection than safety glasses from impact, dust and radiation hazards.
Damage from ultraviolet light can occur very quickly. Normally absorbed in the cornea and lens of the eye, ultraviolet radiation (UVR) often causes arc eye or arc flash, a very painful but seldom permanent injury that is characterized by eye swelling, tearing and pain.
While most welding-related eye injures are reversible, with more than half of injured workers returning to work in less than two days and 95 percent in less than seven days, some eye injuries are irreversible and permanent visual impairment occurs. This is especially true with infrared and visible spectrum (bright light) radiation. Both can penetrate through to the retina and - although this is rare - can cause permanent retinal damage, including cataracts, diminished visual acuity and higher sensitivity to light and glare.
Eye injuries come from other sources besides radiation (UV) damage. Irritation and chemical burns from fumes and chemicals can injure the eyes. But the most common source of eye injures comes from the molten and cold metal particles striking the eye.
The best protection from these sources of eye injures, is to wear welding goggles or welding helmets which ever is best suited for the job, and safety glasses with the sideshields.
The man in the story did recover and with that recovery had a deeper respect for his eyes and keeping them safe.
Resources:
February 2007 issue of "Occupational Health and Safety"