Two binmen from West Sussex are facing a risk of infection and months of blood tests after being accidentally pricked by hypodermic needles.
The needles had been left incorrectly in black bags by a resident for collection in the Arun district.
Despite wearing protective clothing, both men were pierced in the hands.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-18981296
This is, of course, a constant hazard that only becomes ‘real’ when a member of staff is injured or needles are identified in waste. Nonetheless, the hazard is every present.
Sharps injury might occur from ANY sharp item present in wastes, including glass and tin cans etc, and garden waste, in kerbside recycling operations. The risk of injury does not diminish; the range of potential pathogens and the type of infections that may be acquired will vary but pyogenic infections can be severe and I have records of several that necessitated extensive disfiguring surgery and prolonged hospitalisation and rehabilitation.
Protective clothing will always be available, but especially for more general waste operations compliance with PPE use is at best patchy. It can often be observed that staff fail to wear gloves, with a cigarette in one hand and a glove on the other, or no gloves at all. And in this hot weather, though ballistic-reinforced trousers are non-negotiable, tops will come off to allow the younger staff to work bear chested.
If PPE is to be of value it must be worn properly and at all times while working with wastes. Hand hygiene is essential and must follow glove removal; gloves will be contaminated and must not be handled after hand sanitisation, and should never be taken into the vehicle cab.
These simple rules should improve safety for all waste handlers but compliance is poor.
A safe alternative would be the use of full length leather or similar aprons to supplement ballistic trousers, and reinforced gauntlets to replace gloves. Unpopular, but effective and if we are serious about protecting waste handlers this may be an appropriate addition to PPE standards.
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“general waste operations compliance with PPE use is at best patchy.” It seems to me that compliance issues need to be addressed if safety conditions are to be improved. This seems to be a common problem in a variety of professions and occupations where safety is a concern. In my humble opinion, the burden of responsibility in these cases falls upon those in a position of authority to enforce policy and procedures by any means necessary to improve safety of personnel. This might require unannounced spot inspections to verify whether or not policies are being adhered and if not then action needs to be taken. For instance, first offense a written warning, second offense a fine or docked pay and third offense termination of employment. Failure to implement such a strict enforcement code will only allow the problem to continue. This is a serious problem that requires serious action taken.
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Graham
I agree, at least in part. But there are other issues to be considered. Leaving aside the issue of how and why those needles found their way into a black sack, if PPE items are not being used properly, is it an effective solution simply to hit out at the staff concerned, or should we be concerned more about the issue of management supervision? Surely there must be a problem there, which coincidentally is the focus of attention by HSE in the recent call by the Executive who have commissioned Health and Safety Laboratory to work in partnership with the waste and recycling industries to examine whether supervisors and team leaders are trained adequately.
HSE clearly have a point, it is the lack of supervision that is of greater concern and this may be a root cause of the current problem.
There is, of course, one other likely root cause; that is HSE itself. With reduced budgets and cut-backs in just about every aspect of the work of HSE the lack of potent, pro-active regulatory action is of great concern. Effective regulation should provide the check and balance to the many financial drivers that promote unsafe work through reduced training and supervision, especially in an industry so heavily reliant on unskilled and casual/temporary staff.
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Ian,
I agree with you 100%. Typically, there is never just one simple solution. More often than not, it takes a multifaceted effort to resolve an issue such and this one.