Updating the 1999 Clothing Standard
The Ebola pandemic has opened the eyes of the U.S. government and associated departments of the dangers imposed by liquid-borne pathogens. This has led for several standards to be considered outdated and in need of immediate revision. One of them is the clothing standard which was enacted since 1999.
The development of technology has improved the protecting capacity of personal protective equipment ranging from overalls to gloves. Also, new research and studies have found new recommendations that will ensure the efficiency of protecting workers. These have been the basis for the Tentative Interim Amendment for the NFPA 1999: Standard on Protective Clothing for Emergency Medical Operations. Involved institutions and organizations in conducting the studies used for the recommendations are the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the Human and Health Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and the Interagency Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability.
Additions and omission will be made in the standards that will help better protect first respondents during medical emergency operations. According to the amendment, it will revise the standards of clothing equipment by requiring minimum design, performance, testing, documentation, and certification requirements for both single-use and multiple-use protective clothing equipment. Also, the entire body must clothed and protected from the head down to the toe, leaving no section exposed.
The amendment has also found loopholes in the defining of certain phrases and terms that led to the compromise of the safety of the workers. According to the revision, emergency medical cleaning/utility glove will now be classified as essential and a requirement during emergency patient care. It was also well-stated in the old standards that gloves do not provide the essential protection for workers in which the revised standards will certainly change.
The revision is still in its early stages of submission and approval. It is open for comments and bound for changes depending on the legibility of the submitted concerns. The deadline for the comments is on January 15, 2015.
First responders like first-aiders and medical teams during emergency operations are exposed to several hazards. With the presence of airborne and liquid-borne pathogens, the chances of these personnel to becoming infected are high which makes it important that they be provided with the essential protective equipment. Other than equipment, training also plays an important role, to acquire safety training services, contact us at [email protected] or visit us at www.simplysafety.com.sg. You can also reach us at +65 62640889.
Contributor:
Raj singh
CEO
Consultant
Futurist and thought leader
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