industrial hygiene hazards

The situation: You are an Industrial Hygienist for a large New
Orleans Hospital, and you evacuated to Baton Rouge after the
Katrina disaster. It is 6 weeks after the event and you have been
given the responsibility to supervise a team that will return to
the hospital, evaluate the situation, and participate in a plan to
re-establish basic medical needs for the workers involved in the
recovery effort.
Your team is composed of the hospital’s current Safety
Supervisor (programs and training), the Environmental Manager
(physical plant, wastes and regulatory issues), and two technicians
(versed in IH and environmental sample collection and testing).
There are 20-25 additional employees from other areas
(professional, technical, and support staff) of the hospital under
the direction of the Incident Commander. Everyone on the recovery
team will be housed on site in FEMA trailers.
BOS 4301, Industrial Hygiene 3
Power for all operations is from large FEMA portable emergency
generators. Your offices are on the second floor of the building,
along with the surgical suites, clinical laboratory, and pharmacy.
In your offices, there is a considerable amount of trash and debris
scattered about with ample evidence of the public’s intrusion of
the area after the event. You will find muddy footprints and open
cabinets, along with testing supplies and equipment strewn about
your team’s work space. The surgical suites and clinical laboratory
areas are very messy but otherwise in good shape; however, the
pharmacy has been trashed and ransacked. The basement and much of
the first floor were flooded to a level of about 6 feet. The main
administrative offices, emergency room operations, and
cafeteria/kitchen were on the first floor. The hospital will not be
able to provide its own power for at least 6-8 weeks. Normal
communication lines are down. Cell phones are working sporadically,
but promises have been made for rapid improvement over the next 10
to 14 days. Most communications in these early days of recovery are
face to face.
The boss needs: The Incident Commander (person in-charge of
recovery) for this operation is looking to you for guidance on safe
entry, safe clean-up procedures, appropriate PPE for all recovery
workers, and a hazard assessment for the most critical items, or
operations that can cause acute or chronic health effects, illness,
or disease.
Remember that you are to respond as the industrial hygienist
working for the hospital. It is important to consider the
industrial hygiene hazards for the hospital as well as those
introduced by the hurricane.
The questions to be answered: You may respond to these questions
in any order you choose.