Source avec lien : ACGIH, 2021-05.
Alors que de nombreuses personnes retournent sur leur lieu de travail traditionnel, les professionnels de l’OEHS sont chargés de fournir un environnement qui minimise les risques. Le groupe de travail sur la réponse pandémique de l’ACGIH a produit des fiches d’information pour souligner l’importance de l’inhalation d’aérosols infectieux et décrire les outils permettant de hiérarchiser les risques et de sélectionner les contrôles appropriés.
As many are returning to their traditional workplace, OEHS professionals are tasked with providing an environment which minimizes risk. ACGIH’s Pandemic Response Task Force has produced fact sheets to highlight the importance of infectious aerosol inhalation and describe tools for prioritizing risks and selecting appropriate controls. We recommend reviewing these fact sheets in the order they are presented. 1) The fact sheet on SARS-CoV-2 Aerosol Inhalation illustrates how people generate infectious particles, what happens to these particles over time and how people within a space can be exposed by inhalation. It should be useful in explaining how this mode of transmission differs from droplet deposition or touch. 2) The fact sheet about Control Banding explains a qualitative approach to risk and exposure assessment that can be used to determine the degree of risk (control band) associated with a particular job, workplace or activity. The band describes a control hierarchy that prioritizes source and pathway over receiver controls. 3) The fact sheet on Ventilation for Aerosol Transmissible Pathogens illustrates why it’s important to consider airflow patterns inside occupied spaces in addition to the performance of the building ventilation system. 4) The fact sheet on Respirators, Surgical Masks and Face Coverings illustrates their differences as source control and personal protection. We hope it will be useful in demonstrating the differences in these three options and the importance of providing respirators for workers who have many hours of exposure to potentially infected co-workers, patients or members of the public. 5) The Health and Safety Programs for Pandemic Organisms fact sheet describes the most important elements and features of a written health and safety program for aerosol transmissible organisms like SARS-CoV-2.