Handwashing facilities

For the use of the personnel, sufficient number of restrooms with handwashing facilities should be available and located in such a manner that there is no direct access between restroom areas and production rooms, storage rooms, or other rooms where margarine, food additives, or other foodstuffs are located, unless the restroom area contains a special front room that separates the restroom from the production facilities. 

The employer shall provide adequate handwashing facilities for use by employees exposed to lead according to 1926.51(f). Where showers are not provided, the employer must have employees wash their hands and face at the end of the workshift. 

Showers and handwashing facilities, (i) The employer shall assure that employees whose airborne exposure to cadmium is above the PELshower during the end of the work shift. 

Handwashing Facilities A facility providing an adequate supply of running potable water, soap, and single-use towels or hot air drying machines. 

The employer should provide handwashing facilities that are readily accessible to employees. 

The employer should ensure that employees wash their hands immediately of soon as feasible after removal of gloves or PPE. Where handwashing facilities are not available, the employer should provide an antiseptic hand cleanser or antiseptic towelettes. Use these as temporary measures only. 

Many diarrheal diseases can be prevented by following simple rules of personal hygiene and safe food preparation. Handwashing with soap is instrumental in preventing the spread of illness and should be emphasized for caregivers and persons with diarrheal illnesses. Safe food handling and preparation practices can decrease the incidence of certain types of enteric infections significantly. The public health measures of improved water supply and sanitation facilities and the quality control of commercial products are very important for the control of the majority of enteric infections. 

For personnel involved in manufacture or packaging, facilities for handwashing must be available at a reasonable distance The use of these facilities must be encouraged. 

In a recent study at our facility, it was observed that gloving without performing a handwash supported prolonged survival of E. coli populations. When an effective handwash was performed prior to gloving, however, no prolonged growth promotion of the contaminative microbes was observed on the hand surfaces over the course of 3 consecutive hours of wearing. 

Comment 4 A quality control program supervised by qualifled personnel should be initiated at each individual food service facility to monitor and enforce the handwash/glove sanitation practices. 

CDC guidelines highly recommend the placement of alcohol-based hand-rub solutions in convenient locations of patient care areas of healthcare organizations. Clinical studies indicate that the frequency of handwashing relates to the accessibility of hand-hygiene facilities. Installing hand-rub dispensers immediately outside patient or resident rooms or within suites of rooms improves the overall efficacy of staff use by over 20%. 

Employers must provide accessible facilities for handwashing. Wash hands immediately after removing gloves or other protective equipment, and after any hand contact with blood or OPIMs. If a sink isn t available for handwashing, antiseptic cleansers must be provided. In this case, wash with soap and water as soon as possible. 

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