Evaluation of Exposures Associated with Cleaning and Maintaining Composting Toilets – Arizona

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Report: Evaluation of Exposures Associated with Cleaning and Maintaining Composting Toilets – Arizona: HETA 2009-0100-3135
• Personal Author:
  Clark-Burton, Nancy ; Dowell, Chad H.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In February 2009, NIOSH received an HHE request from management at a national park in Arizona. The request concerned employees' potential exposures during the cleaning and maintenance of the pit and composting toilets in the park. Park management also wanted to know whether the PPE used by employees was appropriate. NIOSH investigators visited the park in May 2009. We held an opening meeting to discuss employer and employee concerns
  
  observed work practices
  
  talked to employees about their work and health
  
  reviewed records
  
  and collected air samples for ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, enteric bacteria, and thermophilic actinomycetes. Our investigation showed that instantaneous ammonia concentrations were highest when the pit toilets were first opened, but these levels dropped very quickly. Thermophilic actinomycetes, an indicator of the microbial contamination found at the higher temperatures needed to compost organic material, were detected in PBZ air samples collected while employees cleaned composting toilets. No hydrogen sulfide or enteric bacteria were detected. Heat stress was not evaluated during this site visit but could be a potential problem on the basis of ambient temperatures, workload, and use of PPE observed. Other potential exposures for employees included scorpion and bee stings, spider bites, and airborne hantavirus from rodent nests and rodent feces. Employees were also potentially exposed to hepatitis A and hepatitis B viruses through first responder duties and through handling of untreated human waste and feminine hygiene products. Shoveling out the toilets by hand resulted in awkward postures. One of the composting toilets had a blocked leachate line that caused liquid to back up into the waste vault. Working inside the composting toilet vault meets the criteria for a confined space under NIOSH guidelines. Recommendations to address these potential hazards, such as development of standard medical procedures to address scorpion and bee stings and spider bites, are included in this report.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Ammonia Communicable Diseases Confined Spaces Emergency Responders Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Insecta Maintenance Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Microbiology Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Sewage Sulfides Viral Diseases Waste Management Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Ammonia Ammonium-compounds Author Keywords: Nature Parks And Other Similar Institutions Bacteria Breathing-zone Cleaning-compounds Composting Toilets Confined-spaces Confined Space Emergency-responders Emergency-treatment Employee-exposure Enteric Bacteria Hazardous-materials Hazardous-waste-cleanup Health-hazards Heat-stress Hepatitis Insect-venom Insects Maintenance-workers Management-personnel Materials-handling Medical-treatment Microorganisms Organic-compounds OSHA Region 9 Outdoors Personal-protective-equipment Personal Protective Equipment Pit Toilets Sanitation Sewage Sewage-treatment Sewer-cleaning Thermophilic Actinomycetes Viral-infections Waste-disposal Waste-disposal-systems Waste-treatment Work-environment Work-operations Work-practices

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• Source:
  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 2009-0100-3135, 2011 Jul ; :1-23
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200901003135
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; 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:
  1-23 ; 32 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Evans, Stefanie ; Hartle, Greg
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20039107
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2011-112983
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2011]. Health hazard evaluation report: evaluation of exposures associated with cleaning and maintaining composting toilets – Arizona. By Burton NC, Dowell C. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH HETA No. 2009-0100-3135. https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200901003135
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ammonia (anhydrous) (CAS RN 7664-41-7) ; Hydrogen sulfide (CAS RN 7783-06-4)
• Editor(s):
  Galloway, Ellen
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2011
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  712190 - Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:192a66d9f872c76919d461b232e886fe948cf721ccb050f9c0d6315478186a412594af9a205b29d17cdbdf2d4506b5d89500cb54320623d5e197f6b4e9eaa3a2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/46615/cdc_46615_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 7.05 MB ]