HETA #2004-0417-2987: El Dorado County Health Department; Placerville, CA and South Lake Tahoe, CA

Details

• Alternative Title:
  NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA #2004-0417-2987: El Dorado County Health Department, Placerville, CA and South Lake Tahoe, CA
• Personal Author:
  Seitz, Teresa A. ; Snyder, Erin M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  On September 30, 2004, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a request for technical assistance from a management official at the El Dorado County Health Department in Placerville, California concerning the potential for airborne transmission of infectious diseases within health department clinics. At the time of the request, no health effects had been reported. NIOSH representatives visited the El Dorado County Health Departments in Placerville, California and in South Lake Tahoe, California during March 7-10, 2005, to conduct a hazard evaluation. During the evaluation, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) parameters and the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems were evaluated. The IEQ measurements did not indicate a problem with temperature, relative humidity, or carbon dioxide levels. However, many supply and return air diffusers were discovered to be either non-functioning, obstructed, or functioning at a capacity other than intended. None of the exam rooms at either clinic met the criteria for airborne infection isolation. Airborne infection isolation rooms should be used when providing care for patients with airborne infections such as tuberculosis and chickenpox. The results of the IEQ measurements confirmed that the indoor environmental quality is within acceptable ranges. However, the air flow measurements indicated problems with the function of diffusers, thus affecting the supply of outdoor air and reducing the potential for dilution of normal room contaminants and potentially infectious aerosols. This report provides recommendations to address these issues and advises the designation of an airborne isolation infection room at both clinics.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Communicable Diseases Disease Vectors Environmental Health Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Humidity Lung Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Tuberculosis Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Airborne Disease Transmission Airborne Infection Author Keywords: Health Program Administration Disease-transmission Disease-vectors Hazard-Unconfirmed Health-care-facilities Health Department IEQ Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Environmental Quality Infection-control Infectious-diseases OSHA Region 9 Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-infections Respiratory-system-disorders Varicella Ventilation-systems

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200404172987
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Name as Subject:
  El Dorado County Health Department ; El Dorado County Health Department
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; El Dorado County (CA) ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-12 ; 19 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028897
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2006-101531
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 2004-0417-2987, 2005 Nov ; :1-12
• CAS Registry Number:
  Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Editor(s):
  Galloway, Ellen
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  923120 - Administration of Public Health Programs - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:60827d7734c76b0015714d39133d4c92104a72a66c8c3bbd1367e34b515dba137b6180bab67fddc80699a604da90261d4314b5bcb3753271293cd2dc1793a5ab
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/170578/cdc_170578_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 957.70 KB ]