|
| |  Posted 2/12/2006 4:04:28 AM | |
| Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 2/12/2006 3:51:29 AM
Posts: 2, Visits: 3 |
| | Agencies and employers in general usually try to establish *policies* that cause them the least grief in the short run. If they decide to believe there is no problem then they need not educate workforce and employees may not make a connection between exposure and illness. There may be a gulf between *policy* and applicable law (such as Bloodborne Pathogens regulations). The range of pathogens includes parasites (amoebae that cause dysentery and amoebiasis; ghiardia that is so endemic now in freshwater) that may embolize and not be disabled by UV disinfection--viz. increasing deaths of Calif. coastal sea otters by the 'cat scratch fever' organism. In addition to specific regulations, Law calls for precautions against recognized hazards of every kind. The healthful approach should add pathogen knowledge to common sense precautions and a respect for human and other life. |
| |
| | | Posted 3/1/2006 12:14:17 PM | |
| Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 3/10/2006 2:48:16 PM
Posts: 3, Visits: 22 |
| | I have been involved in the measuring and handling domestic wastewater in the past. We worked within the flow and installed flow meteres and samplers. Because we were receiving a high exposure to the wastewater, our staff received Hepatitis A & B shots. Obviously, cleanliness is a large factor. When handling wastewater it is important to keep your hands covered with latex gloves and wash promptly after finishing handling. Many pathogens do not live long outside the body, so there are few risks as long as a good cleanliness procedure is followed. Neil McLaughlin
Neil McLaughlin, MSc., P.Eng. |
| |
| | | Posted 3/3/2006 9:33:12 AM | |
| Forum Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/15/2008 4:14:18 PM
Posts: 48, Visits: 297 |
| I concur with the findings in the "dated" California study link provided by Mr. Shulmister. Personal Hygiene is the key. Use of protective equipment provides a first barrier, but it is meaningless without the personal hygiene component of washing hands. Look at the current avian flu issue. Where are the problems occurring? In those areas where drinking water, proper sanitation and wastewater treatment are lacking. In developed countries there are not nodes of disease outbreaks surrounding clusters of wastewater operators. I have worked close to 30 years in this industry from working in sewers, sampling discharges from industrial sites, hospitals, etc. to working in the wastewater plant both in the lab and in the plant, being exposed to wastewater, sludge, chemicals etc. Proper personal hygiene is the key. If you learn nothing else, WASH YOUR HANDS. The most disgusting thing I have ever witnessed was the smokers in the group thinking nothing about cleaning out a sludge well and then immediately taking a grime covered hand and lighting up a smoke. You can see the finger prints on the filter, and then they put it in their mouth  There is no conspiracy by the government to downplay risks. The bottom line: The risks are there for those who refuse to recognize their own personal responsibility. |
| |
| | | Posted 3/16/2007 4:17:19 AM | |
| Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 12/16/2007 10:31:08 AM
Posts: 2, Visits: 245 |
| Respectfully, I beg to disagree. The 1980 manual of safety is outdated and even potentially harmful. A new generation has arisen since then, a generation that has lower immunological defenses (we are much cleaner nowadays) and has not been exposed to dirt as we used to be when children. The rise in astma and other diseases is a consequence of this lack of defenses. On the other hand (a way of saying), bacteria and other bugs have evolved like crazy (every 20 minutes or so, a new generation) and soem of them have acquired patogenicity. Escherichia coli is the paradigm, in my times it was considered totally inoffensive, nowadays it has some fearsome varieties. And of course, we have learned that very low exposure to mercury and some organic compounds causes problems. I am writing a safety manual and I am finding that raw sewage - and bioactive aerosols - have become a hazard. Maybe we are also much more attentive to hazards now than 30 years ago.
jaim klein |
| |
| | | Posted 3/16/2007 4:18:12 AM | |
| Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 12/16/2007 10:31:08 AM
Posts: 2, Visits: 245 |
| Respectfully, I beg to disagree. The 1980 manual of safety is outdated and even potentially harmful. A new generation has arisen since then, a generation that has lower immunological defenses (we are much cleaner nowadays) and has not been exposed to dirt as we used to be when children. The rise in astma and other diseases is a consequence of this lack of defenses. On the other hand (a way of saying), bacteria and other bugs have evolved like crazy (every 20 minutes or so, a new generation) and soem of them have acquired patogenicity. Escherichia coli is the paradigm, in my times it was considered totally inoffensive, nowadays it has some fearsome varieties. And of course, we have learned that very low exposure to mercury and some organic compounds causes problems. I am writing a safety manual and I am finding that raw sewage - and bioactive aerosols - have become a hazard. Maybe we are also much more attentive to hazards now than 30 years ago.
jaim klein |
| |
| | | Posted 3/21/2007 1:35:30 PM | |
| Forum Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/15/2008 4:14:18 PM
Posts: 48, Visits: 297 |
| | You may have a point. It is the compulsive "clean" movement that has the consequences you suggest. Bacterialcides in our soaps allow for adaptations by subsequent generations of bacteria, i.e. increased resistance, or tolerance. Couple that with mismanagement of medicine dosages: both human and animal drugs are administered based on "effective dose detention time" in the body, without regard if or whether decomposition of medicine in the environment will ever occur! Moreover, application of medicine in livestock is often administered preventively to the entire herd. Often these compounds are discharged sewers tributary to wastewater plants, or are found in runoff going directly to the rivers. They go by a variety of names: Endocrine disrupters, Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Non-biodegradeable Compounds, etc. Some of the biggies appear to be Estrogen and Caffeine. Nonetheless, personal hygiene and proper PPE, especially gloves, remain the best line of defense. |
| |
| | | Posted 7/11/2007 3:01:02 PM | |
| Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/6/2008 4:03:33 PM
Posts: 101, Visits: 532 |
| | Another data point: To respond to the original post, lab techs IMHO (in my humble opinion) should ALWAYS wear gloves, protective eyewear and a lab coat. It protects the tech from the sample and the results from the tech. Cross-contamination happens. Good lab practices are practiced for good reasons. Our local university comes to our WWTP to collect raw sewage for viral samples. Generally, most every virus known to man can be found at a WWTP Operators in our plant have been working in this industry since before latex and never contracted a nasty. (However, they have been exposed to chlorine, rat poison, hydrogen sulfide, company potluck lunches and other noxious gases.) With all this experience, they use the latest in nitrile/latex/air monitoring precautions. With all their precautions, they still sometimes get sprayed. You can't beat the odds, but try to stack them in your favor. And finally, from your mother "Get your finger out of there and go wash your hands!" and a final IMHO, enough with the anti-bacterial soaps! They take 2 minutes of contact time to kill the bacteria. Just wash your hands and skip the environmentally-twisting chemicals. G |
| |
| | | Posted 8/19/2007 6:36:18 PM | |
| Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/20/2007 10:12:45 PM
Posts: 1, Visits: 2 |
| We have just aquired a company that manufactures sewage plant equipment, we work in textiles, we recently recieved a machine from a sewage plant that was damaged. came to the plant , it was ripe, had dried raw sewage all over it, it is the first thing raw sewage sees when it comes through the pipes, we were told we needed to break it down for repair we had no training on what i call hazardous waste handling, no ppe within the plant except for normal work gloves, they purchased rubber gloves, they pressured washed the machine in back of our other plant, next day went to work on it, it was even riper with debris all over the ground,and sewage still in areas that were not blasted, now this piece of machinery is going into the main plant for overhaul, would you think it is safe to work on |
| |
| | | Posted 8/20/2007 11:55:11 AM | |
| Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/6/2008 4:03:33 PM
Posts: 101, Visits: 532 |
| | "Safe" is a relative term. Is it "safe" to drive to work? People get killed in traffic accidents every day. Is it "safe" to eat at a restaurant? People get food poisoning everyday. Is it "safe" to eat food you prepared at home? Statistically, more people get sick from improperly prepared/stored food at home than at restaurants. Is it "safe" to work on equipment that still has sewage on it? It's nasty. It's poor etiquette for the WWTP to send out equipment that hasn't been cleaned. If we did that, I wouldn't be surprised if the shop working on the equipment added a surcharge for the time to clean the equipment. I have never heard of anyone in the industry contracting a long-term disease from sewage. (I do have a story about one poor fella who actually took a swig of anaerobic swill and was sicker than a dog for several days but didn't suffer any long lasting ill-effects) It doesn't mean it doesn't happen... But if the statistics I have read are accurate, then you are more likely to catch a virus from a co-worker than from sewage. Definitely take the time to clean up the equipment thoroughly. Keep the surfaces wet until you have scrubbed it clean. Avoid breathing any dried sewage that might become air-borne. Properly discard the crap you wash off of the machine (i.e. don't rinse it down the storm drain). Wear gloves AND Wash your hands. Don't lick the spoon. Don't rub your eyes. I'd be interested in hearing how this works out for you. G |
| |
| | | Posted 8/21/2007 11:30:59 AM | |
| Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/5/2008 9:34:12 AM
Posts: 5, Visits: 220 |
| | When ever I have had to send out equipment for repair from our POTW, I had to certify the the equipment had been cleaned and disinfected. |
| |
|
|