Characterization of cleaning and disinfecting tasks and product use among hospital occupations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Henneberger, Paul K. ; Humann MJ ; LeBouf, Ryan F. ; Liang X ; Saito, Rena ; Stanton, Marcia L. ; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B. ; Virji, M. Abbas
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers have an elevated prevalence of asthma and related symptoms associated with the use of cleaning/disinfecting products. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize cleaning/disinfecting tasks and products used among hospital occupations. METHODS: Workers from 14 occupations at five hospitals were monitored for 216 shifts, and work tasks and products used were recorded at five-minute intervals. The major chemical constituents of each product were identified from safety data sheets. RESULTS: Cleaning and disinfecting tasks were performed with a high frequency at least once per shift in many occupations. Medical equipment preparers, housekeepers, floor strippers/waxers, and endoscopy technicians spent on average 108-177 min/shift performing cleaning/disinfecting tasks. Many occupations used products containing amines and quaternary ammonium compounds for >100 min/shift. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis demonstrates that many occupations besides housekeeping incur exposures to cleaning/disinfecting products, albeit for different durations and using products containing different chemicals. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma Asthma, Occupational Disinfectants Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Ammonium-compounds Asthma Author Keywords: Healthcare Workers Bronchial-asthma Cleaning-compounds Cleaning Products Cleaning Tasks Disinfecting Chemicals Health-care Health-care-facilities Health-care-personnel Housekeeping-personnel Housekeeping-products Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  101-111
• Volume:
  58
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045347
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2015 Jan; 58(1):101-111
• Contact Point Address:
  M. Abbas Virji, ScD, CIH, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  mvirji@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d9f78852c25341442a5fc823b3a61b8e6449adf9c74beed16fe0b992b652cea310529bcdf86b72990bbf4c262a1c3edbed7df80d8c082f7bdb77d5d0c79db0a6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200801/cdc_200801_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 217.39 KB ]