What is an “engineering control” and why is it important for fluid waste disposal?
An engineering control provides consistent worker protection by eliminating or minimizing employee judgment and discretion from a particular work practice. OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogen Standard stresses the use of engineering controls to minimize the serious health risks faced by workers exposed to blood and other potentially infectious materials. For example, the outdated practice of pouring surgical fluids into open hopper sinks requires the use of proper PPE, including full gown, gloves, mask, and eye protection. In practice, employees often forget or neglect to use proper PPE because of a lack of knowledge of proper procedures, availability of PPE, hurriedness, laziness, or cost concerns. The engineered confine and contain liquid disposal method used by the Redaway and Transposal systems improves worker protection by minimizing the risks of discretionary employee PPE usage.
