How “Clean” Is the Cleaning Profession?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Henneberger, Paul K.
• Description:
  Commentary-Asthma: Based on the assumption that cleanliness equates with healthiness, many people are likely to consider the cleaning profession to be relatively free of health risks. In fact, some cleaning compounds, either alone or mixed, pose a risk for inhalation injuries, and this risk is heightened when cleaners work in a confined space, such as a small lavatory. The harmful agents are usually irritant aerosols or gases, which means that cleaners are at risk for irritant induced asthma, including reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS), and other respiratory diseases. Over the past 15 years, professional cleaners have emerged as one of the high risk groups for work related asthma in industrialised nations. (Commentary on Medina-Ramon et al., Occup Environ Med 2005, Sept. 62(9):598-606). [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Irritants Lung Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Solvents

  More +
• Keywords:
  Cleaning-compounds Fumes Irritant-gases Lung-disease Occupational-exposure Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-factors Statistical-analysis Vapors
• ISSN:
  1351-0711
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  62
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028236
• Citation:
  Occup Environ Med 2005 Sep; 62(9):586-587
• Contact Point Address:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, Mail Stop H2800, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  pkh0@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ammonia (CAS RN 7664-41-7) ; Chlorine (CAS RN 7782-50-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2005
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c29371ff699c3267aeb16d4130f5b4f1a9bdae50feb47ea9f89d5780ad1fb7b6b07782b6ca7726cd2cd4be9afae3365642171bb2294e93a5156ec926c96888c1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189824/cdc_189824_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 43.62 KB ]