PPE, aka Personal Protective Equipment plays a vital role in many workplaces, especially bio-hazardous waste removal Fort Lauderdale. Whether you work in medical or some other industry where there is a possibility of your employees getting injured, you need to supply them with the right PPE to prevent accidents from happening.
In bio-hazardous waste removal, PPE refers mostly to clothing worn to protect the person from getting physically injured, but also from liquids that can harm his or her skin, or air-borne bacteria that can enter his lungs.
The purpose of PPE is to lower the possibility of a worker getting exposed to hazardous materials. Just like the employer is responsible for providing PPE, the employee is responsible for making sure it works properly. A malfunctioning, or damaged PPE can do more harm than good. The PPE should be inspected daily to ensure its functionality.
Personal Protective Equipment in bio-hazardous waste removal most often relate to the clothing worn by workers handling infectious and biohazardous waste. These usually involve gloves, face mask and a lab coat, but might also include eye protection goggles, an apron or a gown, steel-toed boots, respiratory or gas mask and even a full suit.
About the Different Types of PPE Worn In Bio-Hazardous Waste Removal
Disposable gloves come in two variants – nitrile and latex. They should be worn at all times when handling medical waste, especially sharps, such as needles, scalpels and other medical instruments with the purpose of lacerating or puncturing the skin for treatment, diagnosis or research. Nitrile gloves provide somewhat better protection, people are generally less allergic to them and they alert the wearer to any tear immediately, while latex gloves are cheaper and more comfortable to wear.
To protect the eyes, a bio-hazardous waste removal worker should wear eye-protection goggles. These will make sure that his or her eye sockets are safe from any accidental spraying or particles in the air.
Furthermore, many medical wastes include chemicals and toxins that can be hazardous for a person if inhaled. The most common way to protect against pathogens reaching your lungs is to wear a face mask, but for some more stubborn air-borne bacteria and viruses, a gas mask or an oxygen mask might also be needed.
Protecting one’s skin against chemicals and pathogens in infectious waste is also crucial. This is where lab coats, gowns and aprons come in the picture when we talk about personal protection equipment. Coats should have long sleeves and they (as well as gowns and aprons) should be made from a resistant material, that does not allow liquids, such as blood to go through the fiber. A person handling biohazardous waste should make sure to wear these, especially if he or she has any cuts or wounds on the skin.
Final Thoughts
To keep your medical waste handlers safe, equip them with reliable PPE.The importance of PPE (personal protective equipment) cannot be understated in any industry, least of all bio-hazardous waste removal Fort Lauderdale.
