title: Exposure to human waste from spills while servicing aircraft lavatories: hazards and methods of prevention.
abstract: Workers service the lavatories of commercial aircraft approximately 11 million times per year in the United States and may have exposure to the spectrum of pathogenic viruses, bacteria and parasites potentially found in human waste. An industrial hygiene walk-through of the workplace was conducted by an interdisciplinary occupational health and safety team, and lavatory waste operators and supervisors and the process was observed. Exposure to untreated waste can occur through dermal, ingestion, and inhalation in quantities ranging from droplets to large spills. Several engineering and administrative measures were advised to minimize worker exposure, including the effective locking of a critical valve, and a mechanism for communicating valve locking problems.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. slacey@uic.edu
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Lacey
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abelmann
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dorevitch
mesh_terms: D001359:Aviation; D006801:Humans; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017751:Safety Management; D014038:Toilet Facilities; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D017744:Medical Waste Disposal