What airline workers need to know about COVID-19: airport custodial staff.

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  As airport custodial staff, how can I protect myself? As an airport custodial staff, while the general risk remains low, potential sources of exposure could include handling solid waste or cleaning public facilities (such as waste bins, tables, chairs, basins, toilets) with which a person with COVID-19 has interacted or by touching your mouth, nose, or eyes. Wear disposable gloves during such custodial job duties. Carefully remove and discard gloves after use, and immediately wash your hands or use hand sanitizer. Practice routine cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched surfaces (such as tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, faucets) throughout the day. Follow the directions on the cleaning product's label. Limit close contact with others by maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet, when possible. Conduct routine laundering of work clothes/uniform. Proper hand hygiene (https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html) is an important infection control measure. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol. Key times to clean hands in general include: Before, during, and after preparing food; Before eating food; After using the toilet; After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Additional times to clean hands on the job include: Before and after work shifts; Before and after work breaks; After completing custodial tasks and removing gloves; After putting on, touching, or removing cloth face coverings. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. What steps should my employer take? Your employer should develop a COVID-19 health and safety plan to protect employees. This plan should be shared with you and your coworkers. Your employer should: Take steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 if an employee is sick (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html). Actively encourage sick employees to stay home. Sick employees should not return to work until the criteria to discontinue home isolation are met (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/disposition-in-home-patients.html), in consultation with healthcare providers and state and local health departments. Provide information on who to contact if employees become sick. Implement flexible sick leave and supportive policies and practices. Consider drafting non-punitive emergency sick leave policies if sick leave is not offered to some or all employees. Designate someone to be responsible for responding to COVID-19 concerns. Employees should know who this person is and how to contact them. Provide employees with accurate information about COVID-19, how it spreads, and risk of exposure. Provide training on proper handwashing (https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html) practices and other routine infection control precautions. This will help prevent the spread of many diseases, including COVID-19. Provide employees with access to soap, clean running water, and drying materials or alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing at least 60% alcohol at their worksite. Provide employees with appropriate gloves when necessary and provide training on properly using them. Provide tissues and no-touch disposal receptacles for use by employees. Conduct frequent cleaning of employee break rooms, rest areas, and other common areas. For disinfection, use products that meet EPA's criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2 (https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2), diluted household bleach solutions, or alcohol solutions with at least 70% alcohol, and are appropriate for the surface. Follow manufacturer's directions for use. Develop policies for worker protection and training according to OSHA standards for workers, particularly if new disinfection chemicals are introduced in the workplace for workers to use. Place posters that encourage staying home when sick, covering coughs and sneezes (https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/etiquette/coughing_sneezing.html) and washing hands often (https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/materials.html) at the entrance to the workplace and in other workplace areas where they are likely to be seen. Follow all applicable federal regulations and public health agency guidelines. This fact sheet is available in English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Preceptorship Radiation Radiation Protection Radio Waves Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Airport Personnel Custodians Disease Prevention Face Masks Gloves Hand Washing Infection Prevention Infectious Diseases Protective Measures Safety Practices Sanitation Viral Diseases

  More +
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Other
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  EPRO - Emergency Preparedness and Response Office
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061013
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2020 Apr; :1-2
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:53a44261779e7d3c9effc30272b434df775c89166eae72ec657b719c715540d2850bf1d0d390b4b4b2ec4ad756fc21a7f61bf2984dd4be03d1d75e4a7f836ea2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/181886/cdc_181886_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 274.40 KB ]