2013-2016年的埃博拉疫情重新引发了人们对废水工人感染风险的担忧。先前的研究表明,废水可能含有各种已知和新兴的病原体,废水工人患传染病的风险增加。然而,缺乏使用个人防护设备(PPE)降低这些风险的指南。我们聘请了34名废水公用事业人员和公共卫生专家进行工作安全分析,确定工人可能暴露于病原体的任务,并开发了PPE选择矩阵以防止这些暴露。我们确定了43项相关工作任务。推荐的PPE范围从耐用手套(所有任务)到安全眼镜(24个任务),特卫强套装或工作服(4个任务),和呼吸防护(N95面罩或面罩,根据活动,10个任务)。PPE选择矩阵可以作为保护美国120,000名废水工人免受已知和新兴病原体侵害的指南。实践要点:废水工人患传染病的风险增加。缺乏保护废水工人免受这些疾病侵害的政策。我们制定了废水工人使用个人防护设备的指南,以防止接触传染性病原体。
The 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic revived concerns about infection risks to wastewater workers. Prior research has shown that wastewater can contain a variety of known and emerging pathogens and that wastewater workers are at increased risk of infectious illnesses. However,
guidelines on using personal protective equipment (PPE) to decrease these risks are lacking. We engaged 34 wastewater utility personnel and public health experts to conduct a job safety analysis identifying tasks in which workers could be exposed to pathogens and to develop a PPE selection matrix for preventing those exposures. We identified 43 relevant job tasks. Recommended PPE ranges from durable gloves (all tasks) to safety glasses (24 tasks), Tyvek suits or coveralls (4 tasks), and respiratory protection (N95 mask or face mask, depending on the activity, 10 tasks). The PPE selection matrix can serve as a guide for protecting the 120,000 wastewater workers in the United States from known and emerging pathogens. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Wastewater workers are at increased risk of infectious illnesses. Policies to protect wastewater workers from these illnesses are lacking. We developed
guidelines for use of personal protective equipment by wastewater workers to prevent exposure to infectious agents.