Dealing With Respiratory Hazards In A Pharmaceutical Workplace

What Respiratory Hazards Are Doing To Your Pharmaceutical Workplace, and How You Can Address Them?

The pharmaceutical industry is an essential part of the healthcare system. They undertake the crucial task of discovering, developing, manufacturing, and marketing medicines for human and animal health. Just like every other chemical industry, the pharmaceutical industry faces many environmental problems due to the nature of its day-to-day business.

Pharmaceutical manufacturing factories are generally clean and well-maintained workspaces – they have to be not to contaminate medicinal products being manufactured. However, one area that can be neglected because of oversight is the air within these manufacturing facilities.

Air contamination through chemical hazards or pharmaceutical ingredients has been a significant occupational health and safety (OHS) issue within the pharma industry. Manufacturing medicine leads to the release of chemical particulates (pharmaceutical ingredients) into the air, and these are sometimes toxic. In addition, research labs in the pharma industry deal with corrosive and irritant agents like acids, bases, oxidizing and reducing agents, and other solvents which emit fumes into the air.

All of these create respiratory hazards for workers within the facility. Creating a safe, healthy, and comfortable working environment for workers in the pharma industry is an important management responsibility both from an ethical and legal standpoint. This article covers the different effects respiratory hazards have on workers in the pharma industry and some preventive measures that can be taken to stay protected from these hazards.

Methods of Exposure to Hazards in the Workplace

1. Inhalation?– Toxic chemicals and particulates in the air can be inhaled, leading to respiratory illnesses.

2. Skin contact?– Airborne chemical particles or fumes can contact the skin and cause direct damage or be absorbed and cause internal damage.

3. Eye contact?– Eyes are sensitive and most often the first parts to have a bad reaction to hazardous particulates in the air.

4. Ingestion?– Pharmaceutical ingredients can also enter the body through the mouth and cause stomach and digestion issues.

Effects Of Respiratory Hazards in a Pharma Workspace

Being exposed to airborne chemical hazards can have short and long-term effects.

1. Acute (short-term) effects

Short-term effects of respiratory hazards manifest themselves almost instantly and are thus a good indicator of irritants in the workspace. These effects can be minor irritation of the nose, throat, or eyes, skin rashes, runny nose, or even severe damage like shortness of breath or damage to the eyes. In addition, people with existing respiratory illnesses like asthma may find themselves prone to attacks. Since these effects manifest instantly, they can be dealt with immediately. Treating workers and taking measures to decontaminate the environment should be an immediate action.

2. Chronic (long-term) effects

Continuous exposure to airborne pharmaceutical ingredients can lead to long-term health complications, most often severe and irreversible. In addition, some people develop respiratory illnesses like asthma because of exposure to chemical vapors. Exposure to antibiotic particulates can lead to fungal infections of the skin and nails. Some people who have had long-term explore to antibiotic dust or penicillin show side effects when antibiotics are administered as a medicine. These side effects include difficulty in breathing, dizziness, swelling of the tongue, lips, or face, heart failure, and even death.

Continuous absorption of pharmaceutical ingredients has also reduced healthy bacteria in the intestines that help with digestion, leading to stomach and digestion disorders.

Health and Safety Goals For The Management

Before we list out safety measures that can be taken to protect workers from respiratory hazards, here are some safety goals that the management should set as a target for their workplace:

• Workers must have the comfort of a safe work environment
• Routine inspections and toxicity checks should be conducted
• Workers should be given guidelines or rules to prevent them from being the cause of the release of hazardous elements
• Workers should be given all necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Safety training and drills should be routinely provided and conducted.

Safety Measures to Combat Respiratory Hazards in the Workplace

Providing PPE kits for workers is essential to prevent them from exposure to respiratory hazards. These kits should include eye protectors (like goggles), gloves and suits to avoid skin exposure, and respirators to prevent inhalation and ingestion of hazardous particulates.

Workers should be made aware of the ingredients they are working with and what symptoms to look out for in exposure to hazardous elements. Awareness is key. If someone shows signs caused by respiratory hazards, this person should be immediately removed from the environment, and a workplace inspection should be carried out.

Workers should not be allowed to eat, drink or smoke within the facility as they risk ingesting contaminants or starting a fire. Management can set shifts for workers, especially in those factories that manufacture potent drugs like antibiotics, so that the workers are constantly rotating and no one has long-term exposure to pharmaceutical ingredients.

The facility should be kept clean of dust which is another cause of respiratory illnesses. Using air purifiers, sound ventilation systems, exhaust fans, and climate controllers will help get rid of dust and other chemical particulates in the air.

With these proactive measures in place, the workplace will be a safe and healthy environment for workers in the pharma industry.

First Published on: https://servicemastercleanindia.com/2021/09/14/dealing-with-respiratory-hazards-in-a-pharmaceutical-workplace/