Do-It-Yourself:Mobilerestroomandhandwashingstation

InstallationofFieldToiletsandHandWashingStations

toIncreaseWorkerHygiene&SanitationJoshuaSilva1,JensenUyeda1,SteveFukuda1,LynnNakamura-Tengan2,SharonWages1,KylieWong1,andJariSugano3

1TropicalPlantandSoilSciences2HumanNutrition,FoodandAnimalSciences3PlantandEnvironmentalProtectionSciences

Maintaininggoodpersonalhygieneisimportanttominimizethespreadoffoodborneillnessesincommercialfoodproductionoperations.TheFDAestimatesapproximately48millioncasesannuallyarerelatedtofoodborneillnesses,whichisequivalentto1in6Americansgettingsickeveryyear.Theseillnessescauseanestimated128,000hospitalizationsand3,000deathsannually.Providingfieldworkerswithaccesstorestroom(toilet)andhandwashingfacilitiesisanintegralpartofagoodfoodsafetyprogram.Employersmustprovideaccesstotoiletsandhandwashingstationstoemployeesregardlessoftheirworkinglocationtoreducethespreadofcontaminationviahumanpathogens,blood,andotherbodilyfluids.Foodhandlersmustundergoaneducationaltrainingprogramonproperworkerhygienepracticeswhichmayincludeeducationonhandwashing,useoftoiletfacilities,eating,smoking,tobaccouse,comingtoworksick,wearingcleanclothing,theuseofjewelry,andpropersanitationoffarmtools.Aspartofagoodfoodsafetyprogram,employersarerequiredtoprovideatoiletfacilitywithina¼mileofthefieldsiteorprovidetransportationfortheemployeetoaccessatoiletfacilitywithina5-minutedrive.Toiletfacilitiesmustbeproperlystockedwithtoiletpaperandcleanedregularly.Servicelogsshouldbeutilizedandproperlymaintained.Toiletsystemsmustprovideforthesanitarydisposalofhumanwasteandtoiletpaper,withnorunoffintotheproductionareas.Providingrestroomsandhandwashingstationsawayfromthepackingareacanbechallenging.Ratherthanbuildingastationaryrestroomfacilityinthefield,contractedservicesmaybeusedtoinstalltemporaryandmovablefieldtoiletfacilitiesformobileworkingcrews.Handwashingstationscanbemadewithhomeimprovementorgardenstoreproducts.

Fivemainpartsofamobilehandwashingstation

Handwashingstationsmustbeprovidedandreadilyavailabletopreventcontaminationofproducefood,contactsurfaces,watersources,andwaterdistributionsystemsfromhumanwaste,humanpathogens,blood,andotherbodilyfluids.Stationsshouldbeequippedwithsoap,running(potable)water,handdryingdevices(suchassingleusepapertowels,airblower,etc.),andwastedisposalfordirtywaterandhandtowels.Handwashingshouldbedoneafterusingthetoilet,beforestartingwork,beforeputtingongloves,uponreturningtoworkafterabreak,aftertouchingananimaloranimalwaste,aftercoughingorsneezing,etc.Increasedaccesstoreadilyavailableandproperlyplacedrestroomandworkersanitationstationscanreducetheriskofhumanpathogenscontaminatingfreshproduce.

Hereareothersimple,do-it-yourself(DIY) examplesofrestroomandhandwashingstations.DIYExamples:

DIYhandwashingsystemswithpotablewater,singleusepapertowels,andacatchmentforthedirtywaterandtrash

CommercialhandwashingstationbyScrubNGo

Stationaryinfieldrestroomandhandwashingstation

Portablehandwashingstationequippedwithpotablewater,soap,singleusepapertowel,catchmentfordirtywaterandtowels

Dirtywatercatchmentsystemanddisposalhose

Contractedservicein-fieldrestroomfacility(a)thatisproperlyre-stockedwithtoiletpaper(b)

Restroomcleaningandservicelog

a

bo