Occupational Health
Occupational Health is concerned with the health effects of individuals and populations when exposed to air and water pollution, pesticides, organic solvents, dust and physical hazards, which occur in the environment, the home or the workplace. Occupational safety evaluates and provides interventions to reduce risk of injury and illness using ergonomics, human factors and wellness for future, current and past workers.
Needlestick Injury
Needles and other sharp instruments can put healthcare workers at risk for exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Nursing staff, lab workers, doctors, Housekeepers and all others who handle sharps are at risk for injury. According to OSHA, sharp injuries occur most often when disposing of needles, administering injections, drawing blood, recapping needles, and handling trash and dirty linens. A needle with hollow force, such as those used to give injections and draw blood are most often associated with the transmission of blood-borne pathogens.
Hepatitis B can cause serious liver disease. Hepatitis A can cause another serious liver disease. HIV causes the immune system to break down leading to HIV infection, and in many cases AIDS.
Possible exposure to HBV, HCV, or HIV can be traumatic because the worker may have to wait up to one year to determine infection. This can greatly impact workers, life and relationships.
Sharps include any instrument or object capable of breaking the skin: Needles, lancets, scalpels, rotating instruments – even broken glass. Sharps can also pierce gloves and other personal protective equipment.
There are five rules of sharps safety. The first rule is to get vaccinated against HBV before an injury occurs. They use sharp is a dangerous shark. The second rule is to treat any use sharp as though infected. The third rule is to use sharps safety devices. Make sure you know how to properly use safety devices. The fourth rule is to use safe handling techniques. Never sheer break or bend or recap contaminated sharps. When recapping is required by the procedure, use a receiving device. Always direct the sharps point away from your self and others. Keep both hands behind the sharp instrument at all times. Always check to make sure your gloves fit. Ill-fitting gloves, can make you clumsy and lead to an injury. The fifth rule is to dispose of sharps safely.
Distorted contaminated sharps immediately after use in rigid puncture-resistant containers. Please sharps, disposal, containers, and easy reach and slightly below high-level, wherever sharps are used. Do not allow containers to overfill. Never reach into them.
Remember to protect yourself against sharps, carelessly, discarded in trash, in linens, on a table, or even on the floor. Don’t push trash down with hands or feet. Gently shake down ways holding the bags top. Carry waste in the laundry bags by the top away from your body.
If you are stuck immediately wash the area with non-abrasive soap, and water. Do not use caustic agents such as bleach. Report the exposure to the designated person right away. At quickly since some treatments should start right away. Report any sharps injury as directed in the exposure control, plan to document the exposure incident, including date, time, and type of sharp use. Make sure the information is entered into the sharps injury log.
In summation: get vaccinated against the hepatitis B virus. Treat any use sharp as a dangerous sharp. Use sharp safety devices. Follow safe handling techniques with all sharps. Dispose of sharps safely.
Remember that safe habits help protect you from injury take the time to develop them.
AED/CPR
In the absence of an infirmary clinic, hospital, or physician, that is reasonably accessible in terms of time and distance to the worksite, which is available for the treatment of injured employees, a person who has a valid certificate in first-aid training from the U.S. Bureau of Mines, the American Red Cross, or equivalent training that can be verified by documentary evidence, shall be available at the worksite to render first aid.
Currently the EHS department offers in house AED/CPR training for all SIUE employees. If interested in being trained in AED/CPR you may contact envisafety@siue.edu to request a scheduled training day.
Respiratory Protection
In the control of those occupational diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors, the primary objective shall be to prevent atmospheric contamination. This shall be accomplished as far as feasible by accepted engineering control measures (for example, enclosure or confinement of the operation, general and local ventilation, and substitution of less toxic materials). When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being instituted, appropriate respirators shall be used pursuant to this section.
Currently, EHS offers qualitative respirator FIT testing. If you or your staff require a qualitative FIT test for your job function please request an appointment at envisafety@siue.edu.
