Major water utilities companies across the UK - including Thames Water, Scottish Water, United Utilities and Welsh Water - specify emergency tank showers from Hughes for their site and it’s not difficult to see why.

Emergency safety showers are used in a wide variety of industries. They are critical pieces of safety equipment for providing immediate relief to employees splashed with chemicals.

Emergency showers and eye wash stations ensure workers can receive immediate relief from chemical burns. Learn how Hughes helps you comply with OSHA safety shower requirements. Call us today.

The fertilizer industry uses extremely hazardous materials in their production processes. Common industry chemicals like anhydrous ammonia can cause burns and inhalation hazards. Others like ammonium nitrate pose a risk of fire and explosion. One of the most well-known industrial accidents in recent history occurred in West, Texas, in 2013.

An emergency safety shower seems like a very simple piece of safety equipment. It must provide tepid water. It should activate quickly. It needs to flow for at least 15 minutes. But, is a simple on/off safety shower the right equipment for every environment?

How you react in the first 10 to 15 seconds after exposure to a toxic substance, particularly if it is corrosive, is crucial. A delay in treatment, even for just a few seconds, can lead to serious long-term health issues or painful injuries. As such, emergency safety showers must be situated within any hazardous or industrial workplace.

Remote location. Lack of a constant water supply. Extremes in temperature from -40°C to +45°C. Just some of the challenges faced by a customer in Kazakhstan looking for emergency safety showers. Find out how Hughes tailored a solution for this ‘super giant’ oilfield.

Ensuring that communities and businesses have access to safe, clean water each day is a top priority for the water and wastewater sector. From drinking water to crop irrigation to support the food supply, properly treated wastewater is essential to prevent disease and protect the environment.

The water held in a self-contained shower or eye/face wash units may become stagnant. This makes it susceptible to bacterial growth and if not properly treated and maintained can become a source of infection.

We outline some practical steps for limiting bacteria growth in your safety showers and eye/face wash equipment.

Data storage centre sites store computing and networking equipment for the purpose of collecting, storing, processing, distributing or allowing access to large amounts of data. It's essential to ensure that these sites conform to health and safety guidelines and workers are safe.

Industries worldwide rely on the steady supply of minerals and metals harvested by the mining industry such as coal, iron ore, bauxite, and potash. Though the final products of mining may not be hazardous, there are many chemical risks that mine workers are exposed to daily.

The international standard for safety showers and eye/face wash equipment, ANSI Z358.1-2014 specifies that water delivered by an emergency safety shower must be tepid. Safety showers provide immediate relief for employees splashed with hazardous chemicals.

The water, delivered at a minimum of 76 litres per minute for 15 minutes, washes the chemical from the skin and out of the eyes. However, a safety shower that operates outside of the tepid water range can cause more harm to a victim.

Hurricane Laura, the fifth strongest storm to make landfall in the United States in recorded history, hit the US Gulf Coast at the end of August. An oil refinery and storage facility in Louisiana were left without electricity and an unreliable water supply following hurricane Laura for several weeks. Subsequently, the plumbed in safety showers on the site were out of action putting worker safety at risk.

To avoid huge losses from a potential shutdown, the Louisiana facility reached out to Hughes for emergency units.

Hughes Safety Showers in North America are proud to introduce the newest additions to our product range; the polar cubicle safety shower and 450-liter temperature controlled unit. Both products are built to protect a casualty on a work site in extremely cold environments that fall victim to a chemical spill. The temperature controlled unit is capable of providing tepid water to a safety shower while the polar cubicle shower protects the user from harsh external elements that could cause discomfort, preventing a full decontamination, or even hypothermia.

From food and drink containment to perfumes and colognes, glass and glass containers are an essential part of our day-to-day lives. It’s forecasted that 916 billion units of glass bottles and containers will be manufactured in 2028 alone. Throughout the production process, many caustic and corrosive chemicals such as ammonia, silane, and titanium tetrachloride are used which can cause severe harm in the event of a chemical spill. Worker safety must be maintained as a priority.

Natural gas currently makes up about a quarter of the world’s energy provisions. In a global effort to reduce our carbon emissions, more and more countries are turning to liquefied natural gases (LNG) as an alternative to traditional fossil fuels. LNGs emit 30% less carbon dioxide than oil and up to 60% less than traditional coal plants.

Light aircraft such as an Airbus A320 can hold 27,000 liters of fuel. While this is a staggering capacity, it pales in comparison to larger aircraft. The Boeing 777, for example, can hold over 100,000 liters of fuel which weighs over 80 metric tons. Regardless of aircraft size, the refueling process is extremely delicate and is conducted meticulously every time due to the severity of the dangers involved.

Danby quarry in Vermont is one the largest and oldest marble quarries in the United States, providing marble facades from the New York Public Library to The US Supreme Court. Marble and other natural stones are a highly sought after material, for their various uses across many industries. From architecture and paving, to sculptures, and even home furnishings. Stones such as granite are a versatile material used in the production of key infrastructures, such as roads, railways, bridges, and buildings. Natural stone has withstood the test of time as a construction material with buildings crafted in ancient times, such as the marble-crafted Roman Pantheon, still standing tall today.

Quality is essential, particularly in the manufacture of safety products. Safety showers and eye wash equipment must be reliable, robust, and work first time, every time, to protect lives.

Hughes’ rigorous approach to delivering high-quality products is evident throughout our manufacturing processes. We are audited to ISO standards, namely 45001:2018, 14001:2015 and 9001:2015. Producers of sustainable, high-quality components are in evidence throughout our entire supply chain.

The official Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and ends on November 30 and has the potential to cause widespread disruption along the Gulf Coast.
Are you prepared for power outages or interrupted water supplies affecting the performance of your plumbed-in safety showers?

Every year, thousands of workers are injured or suffer ill effects due to hazardous substances. Employers are responsible for taking effective measures to control exposure to these substances and to ensure proper procedures are in place in the event of a spill or splash.

There is a wide range of chemicals that can be hazardous to workers health. If a substance is harmful, they will be clearly labelled with the relevant hazard symbol(s). Common materials in everyday use such as paint, bleach, solvent, or fillers are all considered hazardous.