tackling trouble areas as tampons and menstrual pads be placed into sealable plastic bags before disposing of them in waste receptacles. Facility management would be well advised to treat all blood and bodily fluids, including menstrual blood, as if they are infected and potentially harmful to the health of patrons and cleaning staff. The alarming fact is that, outside of health care facilities, there are no regula-tions in place to protect cleaning staff from exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials. OSHA guidelines simply dictate that feminine care products be discarded in waste containers that are properly lined with plastic or wax paper bags to protect the cleaning crew from coming into direct contact with soiled products. The agency does, however, state that it is the employer’s responsibility to take fur-ther steps to reduce health risks. Guidelines provided by the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) echo the OSHA standard, noting that bodily flu-ids and secretions do not qualify as regulat-ed waste under the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, but danger could exist. ISSA reminds employers that, ultimately, it is their responsibility to take all necessary action to protect employees from such exposure. nate the need for these disposal units by moving to single-use sanitary product dis-posal bags and making them available in every restroom stall. Above all, facility management must emphasize hand washing to minimize the risk of disease transmission. In keeping with the move to low-touch restrooms, it stands to reason that sanitary product disposal must follow suit. It’s time to get rid of the dirtiest item in women’s restrooms and replace it with a sys-tem that earns the moniker of “sanitary.” CM Ann Germanow is the co-founder and president of The Scensible Source Company, a supplier of disposal solutions for feminine care products. Germanow’s invention of SCENSIBLES ® , sin-gle-use, scented, biodegradable plastic bags embedded with antimicrobial agents to inhibit odor-causing bacteria, are dispensed from refill-able units and are now in use in office build-ings, colleges, supermarket restrooms and other public facilities across the country. More info is found at www.scensiblesource.com. The 21 st century solution The most effective ways to protect patrons and custodial staff involve elimi-nating contact with materials and surfaces that may harbor bacteria. Line sanitary disposal units with proper-ly fitting plastic bags to ensure that all dis-carded products are self-contained. The inside and outside of the unit should be properly disinfected with each change of liner bags. Custodial staff must always wear gloves while emptying and cleaning the receptacles. Cleaning staff should never reach into the receptacles. Ideally, building management will elimi-Circle Product Information no. 204 on page 34 www.cmmonline.com 43
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