The Importance of Tepid Water

The European standards, EN15154 and the international standard for safety showers and eye/face wash equipment, ANSI Z358.1-2014 specify that water delivered by an emergency safety shower must be tepid.

What is tepid water?

Tepid water is controlled within a fixed temperature range. For EN standards this is stipulated as 15 to 37C (59 to 98F). The ANSI standard specifies 16 to 38C (60 to 100F).

Why is tepid water important?

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.

A safety shower that operates outside of the tepid water range can cause more harm to a victim. A shower that is hotter than 38C can scald the injured person adding temperature burns to their injuries and increasing the chance of absorption of the chemical into the skin.

Adversely, a person is likely to leave a cold shower that is below 16C before the recommended 15 minutes of decontamination is complete. This exposes them to ongoing chemical burns. A safety shower that is too cold may even induce hypothermia in a casualty.