Due to the increasing concerns related to the Ebola virus, OSHA has issued a new web page on ebola that provides information about the disease and how to protect workers. It includes sections on the disease itself, hazard recognition, medical information, standards for protecting workers, control and prevention, and additional resources. The page provides protection information for health care workers, airline and other travel industry personnel, mortuary and death care workers, laboratory workers, border customs and quarantine workers, emergency responders and workers in other critical sectors. It also links to the CDC and NIOSH web pages on Ebola.
The web page also includes a new osha fact sheet (pdf) on protecting workers (not healthcare or laboratories) involved in cleaning and decontamination of surfaces that may be contaminated with the Ebola virus.
“The IAM Safety & Health Department will be monitoring this situation and will continue updating the Occupational Health Resource section of our webpage,” said IAM Safety and Health Director Mike Flynn. “An Ebola workgroup has been organized through our labor affiliates. This enables us to have firsthand and valued advice of the unionized health care workers and public employees on the front line of this health crisis and that information also will be disseminated via the webpage.”