Promoting safety on a job site should be a regular routine for any organization. When it comes to the cleaning mission, managers are challenged to equip their staff with an above-average array of personal protective equipment (PPE) daily. There’s the obvious: when working near potential falling objects, wear a hardhat; when using chemicals, wear gloves.

Sometimes, however, safety extends beyond the routine precautions. Emergencies such as chemical spills or mold exposure are serious and realistic potential events in commercial and institutional buildings. Managers need to know what the various risks are, what equipment to provide in each case, and how to take care of equipment to ensure their employees are protected at all times.

Assessing the risks
For housekeepers, there are the chemicals that might be stored at the areas to be cleaned, but there are also the chemicals used to do the cleaning. In order for managers to know what PPE is required, they first have to identify the potential hazards in and around the job site. Any location with a large amount of stored chemicals represents a potential chemical risk, says Curtis Chambers, vice president of Metro Safety Consultants, Arlington, Texas.

Craig Moulton, senior industrial hygienist for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Washington D.C., advises managers to check the material safety datasheets to find out what PPE should be worn when using a specific chemical for cleaning, in addition to the precautions necessary to work safely at a particular site.

Chemicals are not the only potential dangers at a job site. Biohazards such as bloodborne pathogens and infectious diseases are dangers that many health-care facilities managers face on a daily basis, but the proper use of PPE can help reduce the risks. Paul Olson, housekeeping supervisor for St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, is guided by color-coded levels that dictate the needed PPE when cleaning isolation rooms. The infection control department and the local doctors establish the level of isolation based on three categories — contact, droplet or airborne — and place color-coded, bilingual picture cards on the doorways of hospital rooms. The warning level is in English and Spanish, and illustrated. Each stage requires gloves and gowns, but if the disease is airborne, for example, employees are required to wear a mask.

“As long as we’re following the signs on the door, we’re fine in protecting ourselves,” Olson says.

In any situation, if a problem arises and a manager is unsure of the potential danger, it is best to assume the most critical risk and prepare accordingly, advises Jeffery Camplin, president of Camplin Environmental Services, Rosemont, Ill. For example, if someone is bleeding, assume the blood is infectious.

“Treat the situation like there is a problem until proven otherwise,” Camplin says.

Respirators
One of the more common pieces of PPE used to handle emergencies are respirators. Many managers require their staff to use respirators to protect their face area as well as their air supply when working with dangerous chemicals or in the case of other potential airborne dangers. Respirator use is dictated by OSHA standards; managers must adhere to these guidelines.

“Don’t just go to the hardware store and buy a respirator,” says Camplin. “Money and time commitment shouldn’t come into play.”

Managers should seriously consider implementing a respirator training program, says Paul DeSalvo, director of supply/equipment division, Occupational Training and Supply, Alsip, Ill. The program should train the employee on the proper wear, use and maintenance of respirators.

The respirator also needs to be custom-fitted to the employee to ensure a proper and secure fit. The last thing an employee wants is a respirator that leaks. The fit test should be done initially and then at least once a year. The test can be conducted by the safety supply vendor, a safety consultant or with an available safety kit.

It is also necessary for the employee to be medically cleared to wear a specific respirator. Employees are evaluated to see if they are physically able to wear the respirator without exacerbating an existing medical condition. For example, factors that could limit or rule out individual respirator use are asthma, shortness of breath caused by physical exertion, or a history of heart attacks.

“Respirators put a burden on employees,” says Moulton. “They make it harder to breathe and can make the heartrate increase. Some people can get panicky or claustrophobic. You need to know how the respirator will affect the employee.”

It is important that managers appreciate and communicate the limitations of respirators, Moulton says. A respirator will not necessarily safeguard the wearer from every airborne substance. Managers need to match the correct respirator filter to the task at hand.

Managers also need to ensure respirator equipment is properly maintained and checked regularly.

Respirators should be washed in warm water with a mild detergent and then disinfected, especially if employees are sharing respirators, Moulton says.

Filter cartridges should be replaced at least every six months, possibly sooner, regardless of use, DeSalvo says. A good safety practice is to date the cartridges. If there is doubt about how old a filter may be, it is best to throw it away, he adds.

“Overtime, chemicals migrate through the filter and you may breathe in what you were initially filtering out,” Moulton says.

Protecting the body
Protecting other parts of the body can be equally critical when working in hazardous areas.

Gloves are a standard protection, Olson says. He and his staff wear gloves all the time, the only exception is when they are making a clean bed.

There are various types of gloves — rubber, latex, cloth, nitrile and butyl to name a few. As with respirators, managers must match the type of glove to the job.

“Some gloves offer very good protection from chemicals, but they will only be good for one or two chemicals and not good for others,” Chambers says.

DeSalvo finds that, generally, managers and other cleaning professionals use nitrile gloves. This is because many people are susceptible to allergic reactions from wearing latex gloves. Similarly, chemicals will most likely permeate a cloth glove.

When using gloves while working with chemicals, it is best to dispose of the gloves after one use. Inspect them for signs of wear such as cuts, holes, or dry or brittle rubber.

People wear gloves to protect hands, but oftentimes they forget about the rest of the body, Chambers says. Depending on the extremity of the situation, janitors may need to wear gowns, suits, boots or goggles to protect other exposed areas of the body.

A suit is good protection when responding to accidents like a chemical-drum spill.

When wearing gloves with a gown or protective suit, tape the gloves at the wrist to prevent a liquid from running down a worker’s arms, DeSalvo says.

“People are concerned about breathing in the chemical, but a lot can get in through the skin,” adds Chambers.

To protect the feet, employees should either wear slush boots, or use chemical-resistant shoe coverings or “booties.” Employees should discard the booties after each use and not reuse.

Goggles are a must if an employee is only wearing a half-mask respirator. Use a full-mask respirator to eliminate the need for goggles, says DeSalvo.

Safety on a job site will only be as effective as the workers’ willingness to buy into the logic and benefits of proper PPE use.

“Unless both the manager and employee are pro safety, safety gets passed by,” says Moulton.

Housekeeping and environmental services managers must me prepared to assess the risks in various cleaning situations, recognize the necessary precautions and implement the proper PPE to protect themselves and their staffs.




POSTED ON: 8/1/2003