Safety Glasses - Glossary of Terms

Temples (side pieces on glasses) are adjustable for safety glasses to allow for comfort and a tight fit for each person wearing them.

Amber lenses (yellow) are helpful in low light environments, reducing glare and amplifying light. 

Goggles provide protection from chemicals, paint, or acids and provide a tighter fit and more protection than safety glasses.

General purpose lenses that provide maximum protection and visibility

Clip on shields attach to the sides of glasses that do not have side protection.  Most do not make the prescription glasses OSHA compliant; however, the B52 series on the safety glass section can make a prescription lens a safety glass.  The lens itself must be a polycarbonate impact resistant lens in order to meet the standards

These provide ultraviolet protection and filters in select blue wave to help with vision.  They are great for fog and haze situations.  The lenses look brownish and shaded but intensify the outdoor light much like the amber and vermilion lenses.  

Canadian Standards Association – responsible for certifying manufacturers products or services to their published requirements and standards.

These lenses greatly reduce eyestrain in sunny environments while allowing visibility in dark environments. The brown tinted lens is similar to the smoke lens. Most Uvex glasses use the espresso lens; the web-site describes the lens as smoke to avoid confusion.

Great for humid environments or unstable climates.  They are beneficial when moving from one extreme to another.

It is essential for safety glasses to have lenses that meet or exceed safety standards for impact resistance against flying debris and breakage. 

 Mirrored glasses are just as dark as the smoke lenses, they just have a different appearance when on the outside looking in. Mirrored lenses reduce eyestrain outdoors and in sunny environments while protecting the eyes.

Block out harmful UV rays while allowing unharmful lights in for greater visibility and used extensively in fishing.  Most safety glasses are not polarized but are 99.9 percent UV protected.

Lenses with high impact strength, these tough, transparent lenses are utilized in all selections of safety glasses.

Safety glasses that have personal prescriptive lenses or prescriptive inserts and also protect the eyes from flying debris, chemicals, and harmful UV rays.  

Temples adjust to the person wearing the safety glasses for comfort and tight fit.

All safety glasses must conform to Z87.1 standards, and should have a small (Z87.1) mark on the lens or the frame. Protect the eyes from flying debris, chemicals and harmful lights. 

Side shields attach to the side of safety glasses or sunglasses for added eye-protection.

Sunglasses provide protection from harmful light rays; however, they are not impact resistant like a safety glass.  Texas America Safety Company does not cover any standard sunglasses and only safety glasses.

Ultraviolet A rays are harmful long waves of the sun. They may produce severe reactions to all layers of the cornea. Once thought not as dangerous as UV B (short wave) rays, research now shows that UV A rays are much more prevalent than UV B rays and penetrate the skin more deeply resulting in photoaging. Tanning booths emit UV A rays and thus can cause severe damage over time. All safety glasses are 99.9 % UV A protected.

Ultraviolet B rays (short wave) are more intense than UV A rays and the chief cause of sunburning. They may cause cataracts as well as skin cancers. All safety glasses are 99.9% UV B protected.

Not as dangerous as their brothers, UV A and UV B, but they may produce photokeratitis (welder's flash).  Only specialized safety glasses meet UV C standards.  

Safety glasses provide protection from harmful UV A and UV B rays.  All safety glasses are UV A and UV B protected.

This is a name brand manufacturer of safety glasses, most of which are made in the United States. 

This type of  rose-colored safety glass lens reduces glare, amplifies light, blocks blue light and are especially beneficial for glass cutting and sheet metal work.  

Welding lenses are the darkest type of safety shades and are useful for light gas and arc welding.  They come in two shades, 3.0 and 5.0.  

Wrap around lenses provide more protection than regular safety glasses and are OSHA approved even though they do not have side shields.

Requirement standard that all safety glasses must conform to for impact resistant lenses and frames.