Personal Protective Equipment and COVID-19
11/30/2020
Face coverings, dust masks, N95 and the Chinese counterpart of N95’s – the KN95s- have become household names as of late due to our current pandemic. Health officials are broadcasting the importance of wearing these clothing articles or personal protective equipment – PPE – as a necessary component to ensure we control the spread of Covid-19; not just for occupational settings, but even during our personal lives when we go shopping or something as casual as a walk in the park.
But while Public Health officials are encouraging citizens to wear these articles, a political controversy has taken hold about whether it is appropriate to mandate wearing these forms of PPE. The fact is, all these types of face coverings are being worn – not to protect the wearer – but for those within proximity to control particles, such as droplets becoming airborne, thereby controlling airborne transmission of the Covid-19 virus (and in recent weeks, the CDC has stated that face coverings do protect the wearer as well).
So, the mere act to encourage people to wear face masks has become quite a challenge. And thus, we can understand why PPE is a last resort to protect people; that is, trying to ensure persons wear such items while the right PPE is being worn appropriately 100% of the time. Without a squad of PPE police roaming our streets, voluntary compliance has been an issue.
PPE should always be considered the last resort, with implementing engineering controls and administrative controls being considered first. The fact is, PPE has many disadvantages. For instance, it is near impossible to assess the efficacy of wearing PPE. And this is compounded with our current situation as face coverings cannot be evaluated as to their ability to control the airborne transmission of Covid-19 virus particulate.
Next, there is the challenge to ensure that people are wearing their coverings correctly (let’s face it, it is quite common to see people wearing their coverings with their nose protruding above their masks or having their coverings dropped to hang around their neck!).
And lastly, in the case of Covid-19 and the use of various types of face coverings during our assigned work tasks – whether in the field as well as in the office – we understand how PPE can cause hazards that we would not normally be subjected to. For instance, as the weather is getting colder, many of us are experiencing substantial fogging on our glasses – whether our glasses are prescription or safety glasses. This is due to our warm breath flowing upward, into our glasses, where the air condenses on our glasses. And this creates a substantial workplace hazard! So, while we wear face coverings to help control the spread of an airborne contaminant, these same pieces of PPE create a problem of compromising our visibility. And this presents a very dangerous scenario when working around heavy equipment, excavations, or walking on uneven surfaces or in a process facility where machines are operating.
So, while health experts talk about the benefits of face coverings, we need to be diligent in our use of these devices as well as understanding their limitations AND that they indeed, can create workplace hazards that would not normally not be an issue. In the case of fogging lenses, purchasing anti-fog spray and/or anti-fog glasses can help. However, persons that have used these items have testified that they are NOT 100% effective; but nevertheless, do offer some benefit. Another way to help control fogging is through the work practice (i.e. administrative control) of ensuring your face mask has a tight seal around your nose and mouth. This may be easier said than done and may require finding a mask that provides a tighter seal; and thereby reducing the amount of exhaled air rising to your glasses. True, all these face coverings – from cloth masks to KN95s can be molded to create a contour around our complex facial features and therefore can minimize fogging; but it will take some effort to accomplish this.
Obviously, the hazards that appear to be attributed to wearing face coverings cannot be ignored. Yet, many of us are mandated by our projects (i.e. clients) to wear face coverings (and even more specifically, N95s or KN95s). Therefore, we, as individuals and as field crews, need to acknowledge the limitations and potential hazards associated with the requirements necessary to complete our assigned tasks. Which means it is incumbent on us that when our visibility may be compromised due to fogged up glasses, a slight pause (not a formal safety pause) will be necessary to “un-fog” our glasses and remove ourselves from the immediate work zone to clean our lenses.
While the administrative controls of social distancing and contact tracing can be very effective, PPE has been specified as the main protective measure at many of our job sites; even though there are so many limitations that may compromise their effectiveness. Should we see a coworker having a little trouble with poor visibility, step in and help him/her to a safe location.
Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are