Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1084319
121 2019 INDUSTRY RESOURCE DIRECTORY Safety and Health The PPE this guidance suggests may be ideal for preventing the transmission of disease, but it could also be argued it is impractical. Similarly, the most comprehensive way to avoid getting hurt would be to wear a hockey goalie uniform every time you leave the house—but that would not be practical, even for hockey goalies. Hepatitis risk. In developed countries, the more common risk in the portable sanitation industry is exposure to hepatitis. The OSHA standard related to PPE (Standard 29 CFR-1910.132) requires that: "The employer shall assess the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or are likely to be present, which necessitate the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). If such hazards are present, or likely to be present, the employer shall [s]elect, and have each affected employee use, the types of PPE that will protect the affected employee from the hazards identified in the hazard assessment…" OSHA does not specify or prescribe what the PPE should be for sanitation workers. The CDC information of which we are aware that specifically addresses hepatitis is here: www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/bbp/controls.html. You'll note that it does link to a section on PPE, but it specifically says that information: "...does not address all aspects of garments related to their design, integrity, durability, comfort, and functionality." In other words, what's ideal and what's practical are not necessarily the same thing in the eyes of the CDC—a point that is important in discussions with insurance carriers. If you click through the CDC site to the more specific information about PPE, you will find that it mostly addresses PPE in healthcare settings. We trust even your insurance carrier would agree that what's sensible in a hospital is not going to work for a guy driving a truck and pumping units. No external standards for PPE in the portable sanitation industry. Setting cholera and hepatitis aside specifically, the CDC has no PPE standards for workers in the liquid waste/ portable sanitation field as far as the PSAI is aware. The CDC refers to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) standards regarding PPE for several types of workers (e.g., healthcare workers and emergency responders), but sewage generally is not a regulated waste like blood-borne pathogens and you don't need placarding to transport it. Hence, if you search the CDC site for "PPE for waste industry," you get a page about the solid waste industry, linking to several resources, and it makes reference to two sets of trade association resources on that topic. Better worksites. Better weekends. Better world. EXCLUSIVE MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT REDACTED Join us now at www.psai.org for access to this valuable information.