denniss (04/22/83)
Following is an excerpt from a Newsletter published by the Dept. of Transportation. Has anyone heard of this phenomena before? HAZARD ALERT - FOR CONTACT LENS WEARERS An electrical worker threw an electrical switch into the closed position, which produced a short-lived spark. Next employee - another employee for UPS flipped open the colored lens of his welding goggles to better position the welding rod. He inadvertently struck the metal to be welded, producing an arc. Both men were wearing contact lenses. On returning home from work, they removed the contact lenses and the cornea of the eye was removed along with the lens. Result was permanent blindness. The reason given for this phenomena was that electrical arcs generate microwave energy, that instantly dry up the fluid between the eye and the lens, causing the cornea to be bonded to the lens. This trauma is painless and the operator never knows an injury has occurred until removing the contacts.