What lurks under the sink?: Chemical safety is a vital part of staff education. (Housekeeping).

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOUR CLEANING COMPANY played "chemical roulette" with the lives and health of your residents? Just what is inside that unlabeled bottle being sprayed around residents' rooms? Where are the hazardous and toxic chemicals hiding in your facility?

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) established the "Right to Know Laws" to ensure that Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), are made available for every chemical we come in contact with. This includes everything from the correction fluid used in the office to the hand soap used in the restrooms. Always request--and read--the MSDS from your chemical-supply vendor. Each sheet includes the following information:

* name and address of manufacturer, the date the sheet was prepared, and emergency phone number

* list of hazardous ingredients

* physical and chemical characteristics

* physical hazards such as flammability and special firefighting procedures

* reactivity as to product stability

* health hazards

* precautions for safe handling and use

* control measures necessary to reduce harmful exposure

The MSDS must be posted and readily available throughout your facility in case of any accident or emergency caused by chemical contact or use. Many nursing facilities miss the scope of this requirement by neglecting to educate their cleaning and line staff, which must work closely with the medical staff to insure the safety of everyone in the facility.

Chemistry 101

Cleaning solutions are formulated for very specific applications. When used according to the manufacturer's specifications, they can remove soils as well as many harmful bacteria and viruses. But when inappropriately mixed together, they can form a hazardous--even deadly--combination.

Cleaning chemicals are increasingly complex, and it is incumbent on health care facilities to select the safest, most environmentally friendly products. It is critical for any custodial cleaning staff to be thoroughly trained in using the right chemicals for the right job. Staff members, residents, and visitors often bring household chemicals into nursing facilities. Cleaning staff must be alert and immediately report all unauthorized chemicals.

As the operations trainer for a commercial cleaning franchise company, I have conducted many training classes on chemical use. Far too often, when walking through a facility, I have found furniture polish, room-deodorant sprays, chlorinated or ammonia-based dishwashing chemicals stored under break-room sinks, and unlabeled spray bottles of spot remover. In residents' rooms I have found cleaning products left behind by families and friends.

Many commonly used items react harmfully when mixed together. For example, toxic gases may be formed when chlorine bleach is mixed with ammonia or a phosphoric acid cleaner. Even in small doses these gases can cause lung irritation, a sore throat, headaches, and breathing difficulty. In large doses, they can be fatal. (1)

Other products contain ingredients that can cause fatal injuries when they come in contact with the skin. For example, a common rust-remover contains HF (hydrofluoric acid), which destroys human tissue and bone upon contact. Most professionally trained cleaners no longer use HF, but this chemical is still found in metal, carpet, and glass-cleaning formulas sold over the counter in grocery stores.

Of fumes and perfumes

A prime concern in health care facilities is respiratory health and safety, especially for the elderly and the very young. Even those cleaning products with pleasing scents can pose serious health risks such as adult-onset asthma. Reviewing every new chemical that comes into the facility should be standard procedure.

Know how your cleaning staff dispenses chemicals. Do they use spray bottles that mist a product so finely that it floats in the air? Dampen rags and use a pump sprayer to dispense the product in particulate, so that it is heavy enough not to linger in the air. Always have adequate ventilation.

Knowing the MSDS information for your authorized chemicals and removing or banning unauthorized chemicals from your property can prevent many injuries as well as save lives. Your research should begin today.

Pat Grady is director of operations training for Coverall Cleaning Concepts, a commercial cleaning franchise company based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She has operated and trained housekeeping departments for many health care organizations including residential care and skilled nursing facilities.

Reference

(1.) Stress Danger of Chemical Mixing. cleaning & Maintenance Distribution Online. www.cmdistribution.com/howto.asp?H_ID=24