How can occupational hygienists help employers keep their workers safe from COVID-19?
A recent editorial in the Annals of Work Exposures and Health touts the skills of occupational hygienists in understanding exposure to hazards in the workplace and introducing simple ways to protect workers’ health. Authors Sean Semple and John W. Cherrie suggest that these skills could help protect the global workforce from COVID-19.
The editorial revolves around 3 questions the authors say are on the minds of workers:
How does infection occur? Research on understanding ingestion exposure to hazardous chemicals can provide an important framework for how work can be redesigned to minimize the risk of exposure to the coronavirus.
How useful is personal protective equipment (PPE)? Occupational hygienists know that PPE is often “the control measure of last resort” due to challenges associated with getting workers to wear PPE correctly throughout all of the time it is required.
How can I change my working behavior to reduce the risk of becoming infected? Pharmacists and health care receptionists could gain some degree of protection from COVID-19 if they were provided physical or distancing controls, including the simple screens and barriers used by bank tellers. But simple behavior changes can also be helpful in reducing risk.
In addition to the “elbow bumps,” which are now replacing traditional handshakes, the authors recommend behavioral nudges that could help workers avoid infection. For example, researchers could develop electronic sensors or mobile phone camera technology that would help workers avoid touching their faces, a practice that leads to infection.
There are many uncertainties around how transmission of respiratory infections like COVID-19 occurs within workplace settings. But the authors emphasize that “considerable expertise” in the occupational hygiene and exposure science communities could contribute to a better understanding of the spread of COVID-19 and could help workers contain or delay community transmission.
“There is an urgent need for research on what control measures are likely to be most effective both to protect workers and to prevent workers spreading disease in the communities they serve,” conclude the authors.