Few people would argue that jobs in the oil and gas and petrochemical industries are considered high-risk. Most would also agree that these industries actively engage in the highest levels of precautions to protect their employees and communities from harm.
The same exceptional level of workplace protection has emerged in response to not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but the ensuing stress.
"Anything that can be a distraction can lead to increased injuries in the workplace, so we've been very diligent about trying to make sure we're managing around that," said Barbara Dawson, certified industrial hygienist, HS&E fellow and global occupational hygiene competency leader at DuPont.
Luckily, injuries have not increased at DuPont since COVID-19 struck, Dawson said. Still, she believes it's important that workers are familiar with the various support resources available to them.
"We've had a lot of communication around mental health and counseling," Dawson said, speaking as a panelist in a virtual discussion presented by DuPont Personal Protection. "We've trained our supervisors to make sure their employees seem engaged and are their normal, happy, productive selves so they know how to recognize if someone might be having issues, and make sure they get access to the appropriate help."
Dawson noted that it's as important now as it was in the early days of the pandemic for sites to enforce social distancing, face coverings and frequent hand washing, "and [to make] sure we have adequate ventilation when we're in indoor spaces."
Adapting response plans
Co-panelist Mark Tartaglia, certified industrial hygienist consultant team lead for DuPont Protection Solutions, said prioritizing cleaning and disinfecting is part of a much broader workplace plan to guard against COVID-19 spread so the risk of an outbreak is minimized.
"We know our oil and gas and petrochemical facilities present challenges due to the unique nature of these sites," he said. "But this uniqueness actually provides some advantages. We have large, spreadout operations, and a significant portion of these operations take place outdoors. Additionally, there tends to be a little more workforce density in comparison to other industries."
Tartaglia shared his three favorite "go-to's" for overall COVID-19 guidance: the CDC, the World Health Organization and the American Industrial Hygiene Association. All provide cleaning and disinfection guidance, although their guidance is not specific to the oil and gas and petrochemical industries.
"All three of these [organizations] promote the development of strategic and tactical plans to minimize the risk of virus transmission through contact on surfaces," Tartaglia said.
Most facilities had cleaning plans in place prior to the pandemic, but procedures have been reviewed and made more robust to specifically address COVID-19, he added. Updated guidance includes developing an inventory of surfaces for cleaning and disinfection.
"It may make sense to divide this inventory into high- and low-contact surfaces, and then establish individualized protocols and schedules for each type," Tartaglia said. Tartaglia emphasized the necessity for workers who are performing this work to be trained to follow protocols and use all required PPE.
"This likely includes hand and eye/face protection at a minimum, but it could also include body and respiratory protection," he said. "Realistically, it doesn't look like we will have a vaccine available for most of the population until at least the middle of 2021, so ongoing vigilance [must continue] at work, as well as outside of work."
Allie Fletcher, thermal apparel sales technical engineer - North America for DuPont, moderated the discussion.
