The wording in the Portable Sanitation Association International’s Health and Safety Certification manual is simple and to the point:
“Personnel cleaning units will wear rubber gloves at all times when working.”
Yet how often do you see employees grabbing a wand, holding a hose or handling a bucket of deodorizer without a pair of gloves?
And, when applicable, what about those safety goggles? Do you have eyewash in the truck? Are you wearing the proper foot protection? What about donning a hard hat and a reflective vest when working in a construction or heavy-traffic zone?
The PSAI, in its certification standards, doesn’t mince words:
“Personnel will be aware of and comply with current OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) safety regulations and equipment requirements.” In short: wear your gloves and goggles.
Millicent Carroll, responsible for PSAI’s industry/regulatory standards and marketing, says a safe working environment frequently is just a matter of common sense. If you’re working at a construction site, there likely are strict regulations already in place, such as the need for hard hats or steel-toed boots.
Yet those same requirements don’t apply if you’re at a special event, Carroll says.
The same for safety goggles: When applicable, they will be utilized, PSAI guidelines state. Like when cleaning and deodorizing a restroom and there’s a chance of spillage.
But if you’re picking up or delivering a unit that has been evacuated of waste, there’s less chance of anything splashing back on you, Carroll says.
And while some companies and states require wearing safety goggles at all times, there are no national standards, Carroll says.
DOMESTIC VERSUS INDUSTRIAL WASTE
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies portable restroom septage as domestic rather than industrial or commercial waste, Carroll says. The EPA’s Part 503 describes domestic waste as liquid or solid material removed from a septic tank, cesspool, portable restroom, Type II marine sanitation device or a similar system that receives only domestic septage, noncommercial, nonindustrial sewage.
Domestic waste is defined as containing mostly water, sewage, inorganic materials like grit and organic fecal matter. Small amounts of polluting substances normal to household activity can also be present. When analyzed in a laboratory, domestic septage is usually shown to contain low levels of heavy metals and other pollutants.
THE NEED FOR HYGIENE ON THE SITE
But that doesn’t mean anything goes in your restroom service routine. On the contrary, contact with portable restroom waste is a serious issue. And so are typical injury risks technicians encounter at worksites. Carroll says that when presenting the PSAI Health and Safety Certification program, she offers up the following scenario:
“You’re cleaning a unit, you’re servicing it. You’re evacuating the waste. Yet no matter how cautious you are, there still might be some backwash. If you drop a pebble in a pond of water you’re going to get stuff that comes up, right?”
Suppose there’s a burp and a backlash? A hose breaks? Or a worker steps on a foreign object? From a portable sanitation company owner’s standpoint, there are workman’s compensation issues to consider.
Fortunately, there is no risk of contracting the HIV or AIDS virus while servicing a restroom. The deodorizer/additive solutions used in portable units, as well as common household bleach, will kill the HIV virus. For an individual to contract the disease, there must be no deodorizer/additive solution in the holding tank, an HIV infected person must deposit an excessive amount of blood, semen or vaginal secretion into a unit, the fluid must be less than a few minutes old and the waste must enter a fresh puncture in the skin.
While HIV isn’t a major concern, you must consider hepatitis viruses that attack the liver. The most relevant is hepatitis A, which is spread from person-to-person through contact with feces from an infected individual. Poor personal hygiene and poor sanitation can contribute to its spread. Drinking water and eating food contaminated with feces can also spread the virus.
“If your hands are covered in dirt and you have grit and crud under your nails, you would not think of picking up a sandwich and eating it,” Carroll says. However, it is possible that individuals might get a rag or wipe and wash their hands and say they’re good to go, or simply wipe their hands on their shirt or pants. Be aware of what you are putting in your mouth, rubbing in your eye, leaving on the cab of your truck or taking home that might infect others, Carroll says.
TAILOR YOUR RULES
A key focus of the PSAI certification program is to get operators to think about what they do and the consequences of their actions. “Habits are created by something that is repetitive. And we can change that by understanding what can happen: If you don’t do this, here is a list of the diseases you can get. This is what happens if you come down with hepatitis A, or you come down with hepatitis B,” Carroll says.
For optimal protection and safety, PSAI recommends rubber gloves be worn at all times while servicing units. When applicable, safety goggles and eyewash should be utilized. Proper footwear is also recommended. OSHA guidelines say employers must determine the proper footwear for a job based on the potential for worker injuries due to falling or rolling objects, objects piercing the sole or electrical hazards.
As for technicians wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, Carroll says there has been discussion on the subject, but no consensus. It depends on the region and climate you work in and what it is that you are servicing, she says.
Beyond the PSAI recommendations, Carroll says OSHA has some federal guidelines on safety gear. But portable sanitation contractors must be aware of all state and local safety rules, and then tailor their own policies regarding safety equipment to take all of the rules into account. And when they have a policy in place, companies should reinforce those rules and conduct periodic checks to make sure workers are following them.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Whatever rules you adopt for your own company, the common sense basics can’t be emphasized enough: When servicing units, be sure to wear gloves, and when applicable, utilize safety goggles, eyewash and proper foot protection. For more information on portable restroom health and safety, contact the PSAI at 800/822-3020, or visit www.psai.org.
