Personal Protective Equipment PPE

All practitioners of pre-hospital care should have access to a basic standard of personal protective equipment (Fig. 2.16). A suitable minimum list is given in Box 2.12. It is the personal responsibility of anyone who regularly provides pre-hospital care, or is likely to be called upon to do so, to have this level of protection immediately available. 

By the nature of terrorist incidents, it is possible that responders are placed in situations of some personal hazard. Although, in general, medical care in such situations should only be provided by those with special training, it is essential that anyone who enters such an area 

12 Personal protective equipment for practitioners of pre-hospitol core 

All NHS receiving hospitals are issued with suits offering respiratory protection. It is essential that all staff are familiar with wearing, and working in, this clothing. Putting on the standard NHS PPE takes time and is best achieved with assistance from a colleague. The time for which one can operate effectively in the suit is limited and should not exceed one hour. 

Always remember hand hygiene, sharps discipline, safe disposal of clinical waste 

Supervisors and employees must be taught the proper selection, use, and maintenance of PPE. Since PPE sometimes can be cumbersome, employees may need to be motivated to wear it in every situation where protection is necessary. Training should begin with a clear explanation of why PPE is necessary, how its use will benefit the user, and the limitations of the equipment. Remind your employees of your desire to protect them and of your efforts, not only to eliminate and reduce the hazards, but also to provide suitable PPE where needed. Explain how essential it is that they do their part to protect their health and safety [6]. 

Your company is required to have a written PPE program if your employees use PPE in conjunction with their duties. Of course PPE is only to be used when engineering controls and administrative controls cannot be used to protect the employee. Under 1910.132, PPE refers to equipment to protect eyes, face, head, and extremities protective clothing respiratory devices and protective shields and barriers. If employees provide their own protective equipment, the employer is also responsible for it. The employer responsibilities include 

Hazard assessment and equipment selection. Once engineering and administrative controls have been exhausted, it is the employer s responsibility to determine if hazards are present necessitating the use of PPE. The employer must select and have each affected employee use the types of PPE necessary for protection. 

The employer shall verify the hazard assessment has been performed through a written certification which 

Upon completion of this chapter the student should be able to  

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is last in the hierarchy of hazard control. PPE is less desirable than engineering and administrative controls for the control of hazards but is still critical. The appropriate PPE fitted correctly is a reliable barrier against known hazards. The biggest drawback against PPE is that some workers are careless about their selection of PPE for a job and choose ineffective PPE or they do not ensure that it is properly fitted and used. The function of PPE is to protect the user s entire body, including the respiratory system, eyes, hearing, head, hands, etc. 

The European member states may authorize derogations from these prohibitions in the case of adolescents if such work is indispensable for their vocational training, provided that work is performed under the supervision of a competent person. Concerning hazardous chemicals, this will mean in practice that work of young people with such substances (for example experiments with carcinogens in a laboratory) is permitted if 

In practice, the relatively long list of potentially hazardous chemicals for which a prohibition of work has been imposed can be summarized as follows  

No restrictions have been imposed for the following chemical agents  

Depending on the different parts of the human body to be protected against chemicals, it is important to distinguish between the following types of personal protective equipment (PPE)  

In the case of full-body protection, any exposure to chemicals is completely excluded. This means that all the above-mentioned criteria are fulfilled. Normally, 

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Sampling spills. Wear proper personal protective equipment (PPE) Follow proper sampling procedures Use safe sampling design CCPS G-22 CCPS G-23 CCPS G-29 Lovelace 1979... 

Material solidifies Monitor and control temperature in feed system or is too viscous, Heat trace and/or insulate lines and plugs lines. Potential for proper line break procedures exposure while Use personal protective equipment (PPE) correcting, proper lockout-tagout and confined space problem. entry procedures CCPS G-23 CCPS G-29 Fisher 1990... 

Physical stress induced by Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). 

Where possible design process and/or restructure job/tasks to reduce need for personal protection equipment (PPE)... 

Degradation of personal protection equipment (PPE) between uses. 

Did any chemical used/produced m the process require use of special personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling ... 

Cutaneous Cutaneous relates to or affects the skin. The term subcutaneous refers to being below the skin (as in a penetrating injury or injection). Use your MSDS to determine the required personal protective equipment (PPE) that you must use. Protecting the skin (with gloves, aprons, coveralls, face masks, etc.) is important. After all, the skin is the largest organ in the human body. 

Dermal Toxicity Dermal toxicity is the ability of a substance to poison people or animals by contact with the skin. Toxic materials absorb through the skin to various degrees depending on their chemical composition and whether they are dissolved in a solvent. Always wear proper personal protection equipment (PPE), such as gloves and aprons, when working with a toxic (or nontoxic) substance that can be absorbed through the skin. 

When working with chemicals that have target organ effects it is critical to prevent exposure. This is especially true if you have a pre-existing condition, disease, or injury to that particular organ. Read the MSDS to fmd out the most effective personal protection equipment (PPE) for dealing with the chemical and be certain to minimize release of the chemical in the first place. 

On April 6, 1994, OSHA published its final revisions to the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) standard in the Federal Register, Vol. 59, No. 66. With the implementation date of July 5, 1994, the regulation, applicable to the general industry, represented major changes in the selection and use of PPE. OSHA believes that through compliance with the PPE standard, safety statistics that track worker safety will improve. These improvements will add up to 712,000 lost workdays and 95,000 recordable cases. 

Personal protective equipment (PPE) Devices and apparel worn by employees to prevent or reduce exposure to health and safety hazards in any adverse environment. Examples include respirators, gloves, chemical-resistant overalls, earplugs, and safety glasses. 

Protective equipment, personal See Personal protective equipment (PPE). 

Wear all personal protection equipment (PPE) required by your organization and ask your supervisor if you are not sure. 

The chemical and physical compatibility of decontamination solutions or other decontamination materials must be determined before use. Any decontamination method that permeates, degrades, damages, or otherwise impairs the functioning of the personal protective equipment (PPE) is incompatible with such PPE and should not be used. If a decontamination method does pose a direct health hazard, measures must be taken to protect both decontamination personnel and the workers being decontaminated. Figure 16.22 presents a decision aid for the evaluation of health and safety aspects of decontamination methods. 

Brouwer, D.H. and van Hemmen, J.J. (1994) Fitting personal protective equipment (PPE) to the hazard selection of PPE for various pesticide exposure scenarios in greenhouses, in Book of Abstracts of the American Industrial Hygiene Conference Exposition, American Industrial Hygiene Association, Anaheim, CA. 

The exposure value thus yielded provides a measure of the skin exposure with and without consideration of a protective garment and gloves (personal protective equipment = PPE), and may be taken directly for comparison with appropriate data from relevant toxicity studies for assessment of the risk via the dermal route. 

Strength ACSO (Aiken County Sheriffs Office) personnel had Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in their vehicles and were directed to utilize it. ACSO Sheriff contacted neighboring county Sheriffs directly via cell phone to coordinate safe arrival direction to the staging area. ADPS (Aiken Department of Public Safety) Staging officer directed rescue personnel through specified safety routes. US-OSHA representatives offered support on Day 2 and identified no safety concerns for responders. 

Hold a briefing for entry personnel and support crew. Ensure that all staff on scene understand emergency signals, preplanned escape routes, locations of Hot/Warm/ Cold zones, operational hazards at this site, the evacuation system, the buddy system, the need for appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) the potential need to decontaminate rescuers and their equipment, and contaminated persons location of rehabilitation area, possible air space closure over incident site, etc. 

Gather important information the agent used was it aerosol, liquid, gas, powder or vapor location method of delivery do you have the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to deal with the hazard, or have you called for assistance by a specialized team are you sure that anyone who enters a contaminated area has the proper PPE and is trained in its use be sure to establish control — keep all victims, non-victims and bystanders at the crime scene (if there is any suspicion of an attack) until it is determined who among them may be a terrorist or a witness perform decontamination, triage if necessary, isolation, quarantine, search and locate evidence, maintain chain of control, and collect samples. 

Caution Aerosol dissemination of botulism is a new and potential danger in the terrorist world of today. If aerosol dissemination is used, first responders should wear SCBA and personal protective equipment (PPE) without fail. 

Personal Protective Equipment Laboratory personnel should wear appropriate chemical cartridge respirator, Butyl or Neoprene rubber gloves, and full-length faces shields with forehead protection depending on the amount of exposure. However, rescue personnel should be equipped with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and have available and use as appropriate Level A personal protective equipment (PPE). When you do not know the degree of hazard, use Level A personal protective equipment (PPE) as follows ... 

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