PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)

Daron Davies A. Agboyie (PC-BRM, IFBA)

Bio-Risk Manager (PHRL-Tamale)
29th November, 2023
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
1. Definitions and Importance of Personal Protective Equipment
2. Types of Hazards
3. Types of Personal Protective Equipment (Core Requirements)
4. Choosing the right Personal Protective Equipment
5. Personal Protective Equipment for different Biosafety levels
6. Donning and Doffing procedure of Personal Protective Equipment
7. Case study: PPEs in action
8. Limitations of PPEs
OBJECTIVES
33

TTT
H

Understand the
Identify different Select appropriate
importance of
types of PPEs and PPEs utilized in the
PPEs in
their uses medical laboratory
maintaining safety

Provide
Learn and Perform Share life-time
information on the
effective donning experiences on the
selection and use
and doffing of PPE use of PPE
of PPE
DEFINITION OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
“Specialized clothing or equipment, worn by an
employee for protection against infectious
materials”- (CDC)

Personal protective equipment (PPE): ‘’is

any equipment (for example, gloves) worn by a
person to protect that individual from exposure
to one or more hazards’’- (OSHA)
IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT
▪ PPE and other dedicated laboratory clothing's act as a
barrier to minimize the likelihood laboratory personnel from
being exposed to aerosols, splashes or inadvertent inoculation

▪ Proper PPE and laboratory attire help minimize the

potential for skin exposure to hazardous chemicals,
biological agents, and other hazardous materials
HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS
DEFINITION OF HAZARDS

Hazards are things that exist and can cause harm to humans, animals
and the environments

These are present in all workplaces (including healthcare settings)

IMPORTANCE OF HAZARDS

Lost productivity Increased costs

Injuries, short and long-

term illnesses and diseases,
and sometimes even death
TYPES OF HAZARDS
▪Hazards are classified as biological, chemical, physical, based on
the nature of hazard causing the harm

▪ Biological hazards: disease-causing ▪ Chemical hazards: Hazardous

agents and their toxins which includes; chemical products (solid
• Bacteria /liquid/gas); They are classified
• Viruses as;
• Fungi • Toxic
• Parasites • Flammable
• Spores • Oxidizing
• Toxins from biological sources • Reactive
• Corrosive
TYPES OF HAZARDS
▪ Physical or mechanical hazards: These are factors or
conditions within the environment. Examples include;
• Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
• Heat
• Electricity
• Poor equipment design or work organization (ergonomic
hazards)
• Stress
• Excessive noise

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

TYPES OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT
Gloves – protect Lab
hands from coats/Coverall/Go
Scrubs/headcover –
biological, wns/aprons – protect body/hair
chemical, physical protect skin and/or
hazards clothing
Masks and
Respirators – mask
Gumboots or protect mouth/nose Goggles/safety
footwear – protect and Respirators – glasses – protect
feet/leg protect respiratory eyes
tract from airborne
infectious agents
Face shields –
Earplugs/earmuffs
protect face,
– protect ears from
mouth, nose, and noise
eyes
TYPES OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT
 CHOOSING
THE RIGHT
PERSONAL
PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT
(PPE)
BRM for Laboratory Professionals
KEY PRINCIPLES FOR SELECTING PERSONAL
EQUIPMENT PROTECTIVE
Fundamental principles for selecting appropriate PPEs include the following:
Choose products that are fit for purpose in accordance with local and national
regulations or adopted international standards
Choose equipment that suits the user – consider the size, fit and weight of the
PPE. If the users help choose the PPE, they will be more likely to use it
If more than one item of PPE is to be worn at the same time, make sure they can be used
together, for example, wearing safety glasses may disturb the seal of a respirator causing
air leaks
Instruct and
train personnel on how to use PPE, why it is needed, when to use it and what its
limitations are
Never allow exemptions from wearing PPE for those jobs that “only take a few minutes”
SELECTION CRITERIA FOR PERSONAL
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
The following questions should be answered by the user before
selection of any PPE:

Who will be exposed How long will the PPE

and to what? be worn?

What type of biological Are there any

material is protection
needed against (for
example, diagnostic
specimens, cultures, large-
scale production)?
Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie
contraindications for the
use of a certain type of
PPE (for example, asthma,
claustrophobia,
dermatitis)?
CONSIDERATIONS CONCERNING BIOLOGICAL AGENTS

The characteristics of the biological agent that should be considered

when determining the type of PPE to be worn include:
▪ Routes of transmission
▪ Infectious dose
▪ Environmental stability
▪ Consequences of exposure and/or release
▪ Availability of vaccines or prophylaxis

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT- CORE REQUIREMENTS

According to the WHO laboratory Biosafety manual 2020 (4th

edition), the following are PPE core requirements:
▪ Laboratory coats
▪ Footwear
▪ Gloves
▪ Eye protection

NOTE: The above-mentioned PPE core requirements will be discussed

into more details during the training

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

PPE - HEIGHTENED CONTROL MEASURES

• Laboratory coats and additional body protection

• Aprons
• Gowns
• Coveralls
• Footwear
• Gloves
• Eye protection
• Respiratory protection

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT MAXIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Cabinet line facilities (BSC III) Positive Pressure Suits

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR DIFFERENT BIOSAFETY LEVELS-
1/4

▪ Characteristics of the biological agent being handled

The PPE
required ▪ Volumes and concentrations of the biological agent
depends on the
following
factors: ▪ Presence of additional hazards (e.g. extreme temperatures,
chemical or radiological hazards), and type of work being
carried out

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

 PPE FOR DIFFERENT BIOSAFETY LEVELS-1/4

▪ Other risk control measures being used, such as a biological

The PPE safety cabinet (BSC)
required
depends on the ▪ Other PPE being worn
following ▪ Individual needs of the laboratory personnel or the courier
factors: rider/driver
▪ Availability of national regulations/organizational requirement

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

 PPE FOR DIFFERENT BIOSAFETY LEVELS-2/4

▪ Four biosafety levels-based on the infectiousness of the agent

Biosafety ▪ Represents a basic level of containment that relies on standard

Level-1: microbiological practices with no special primary or secondary
barriers recommended, other than a sink for handwashing

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

 PPE FOR DIFFERENT BIOSAFETY LEVELS-2/4

Biosafety • Similar to B SL-1, suitable for work involving HG-2 agents that are not
Level-2: transmitted by airborne route plus the ff:

• Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic

agents and are directed by competent scientists

• Access to the laboratory is limited when work is being conducted

• Extreme precautions are taken with contaminated sharp items

• Certain procedures in which infectious aerosols or splashes may be

created are conducted in biological safety cabinets or biocontainment
Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie
 PPE FOR DIFFERENT BIOSAFETY LEVELS-3/4

Biosafety Level-3 ▪ Applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research, or

(biocontainment) production facilities in which work is done with HG-3
agents that may be transmitted by airborne route, often
have a low infectious dose

• Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling

these agents, and are supervised by competent
scientists who are experienced in working with these
agents
PPE FOR DIFFERENT BIOSAFETY LEVELS-3/4

▪ Applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research, or

Biosafety Level-4
(Maximum production facilities in which work is done with HG-4 agents
Containment): that may be transmitted by airborne route, often have a
low infectious dose

▪ Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling

these agents, and are supervised by competent scientists
who are experienced in working with these agents
SEQUENCE ON DONNING AND DOFFING OF PPE

▪ Donning (Wearing) ▪ Doffing (Removing)

✔ Scrub, headcover and gumboot ✔ Second pair of Gloves
✔ Coverall or gown ✔ Face shield or goggles
✔ First pair of gloves ✔ Coverall or Gown
✔ Mask or respirator ✔ Mask or respirator
✔ Goggles or face shield ✔ Remove first pair of Gloves
✔ Second pair of Gloves ✔ Scrub, headcover and gumboot
NB: Combination of PPE will affect NB: Combination of PPE will affect
sequence – be practical sequence – be practical

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

CASE STUDY: PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT IN ACTION

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

LIMITATIONS OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

NB: the use of PPE does not remove the hazard ie. biological or chemical
agent
Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie
 CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF PPE-1/3

▪ Cleaning and Maintenance: Instructions from the PPE manufacturer

must be followed for reusable PPE
▪ Do not reuse any type of one-time use PPE, because;
• you can be exposed to residues remaining on the from the previous
use,
• or to product moving through damaged or deteriorated PPE during
reuse

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF PPE-2/3

▪Storage: Instructions from the PPE manufacturer

must be followed for both reusable and disposable PPE
▪ Most PPE must be protected from chemicals,
sunlight, extreme temperature,
excessive humidity, and
moisture, or the specified shelf-life will be
reduced
▪ Disposable, reusable, or limited-use PPE must be
discarded if not stored properly
▪ Keep PPE in its sealed package until use, and never
store PPE with personal clothing
Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie
CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE, STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF PPE-3/3

▪ Disposal: it is the critical last step in handling PPE. Ensure

that you remove and discard PPE without contaminating
yourself and the environment
▪ PPE may have an expiration date
▪ PPE requires careful inspection- read the PPE manufacturer
directions

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE ON PPE

OSHA issues workplace health and safety regulations. Regarding PPE,

employers must:

Ensure that PPE

is disposed or OSHA also
Provide reusable PPE is specifies
appropriate PPE cleaned, circumstances
for employees laundered, for which PPE is
repaired and indicated
stored after use

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TRAINING

Each employee who is required to use Personal Protective Equipment

must be trained to know:

How to
properly put
When PPE What PPE is
on, take off,
is necessary necessary
adjust, and
wear the PPE
Proper care,
The maintenance,
limitation of useful life,
the PPE and disposal
of PPE
Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie
CONCLUSION

Personal Protective Equipment is crucial for protecting against

hazards in the laboratory

Different types of Personal Protective Equipment for various

hazards and Biosafety Safety Levels

Proper donning, doffing, and maintenance are essential for

effectiveness

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

 A D D IT IO N A L R E S O U R C E S

▪ Laboratory biosafety manual, fourth edition. Geneva: World Health

Organization; 2020 (Laboratory biosafety manual, fourth edition and
associated monographs).

▪ Personal protective equipment. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020

(Laboratory biosafety manual, fourth edition and associated monographs).

Personal Protective Equipment- Daron Davies A. Agboyie

THANK YOU!