Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California at Davis, Davis, California, USA.
Usafi Technologies, Sacramento, California, USA.
Water Environ Res. 2022 Sep;94(9):e10778. doi: 10.1002/wer.10778.
Compared with the public, wastewater personnel, are at an increased risk of infection and illness from wastewater pathogens due to work-related tasks. Unfortunately, current risk assessment approaches do not consider individual personnel factors (e.g., age and health conditions) that may influence their susceptibility to a health effect. The objective of this study is to establish a baseline level of occupational and health factors among the wastewater personnel population, quantify these factors using a susceptibility evaluation scoring system, and examine relevant susceptibility features using the concept of "Personas." Using survey data from 246 respondents and public health risk data on COVID-19 from the CDC, personnel clustered into three persona groups: "low susceptibility," "high occupational susceptibility," and "high health susceptibility." Results highlight the intersectionality between gender, age, underlying health conditions, job tasks, and level of exposure to wastewater and provide context for incorporating individual variables into risk assessment methodologies with the goal of protecting this essential workforce. PRACTITIONER POINTS: A risk assessment framework that combines health and occupational susceptibility factors was developed for wastewater treatment plant personnel. Wastewater personnel clustered into three persona groups: "low susceptibility," "high occupational susceptibility," and "high health susceptibility." The intersectionality between job related activities and individual health provides a holistic approach to risk assessment for wastewater personnel.
与公众相比，由于与工作相关的任务，废水处理人员面临更高的感染和患病风险。不幸的是，当前的风险评估方法并未考虑可能影响其健康影响易感性的个体人员因素（例如年龄和健康状况）。本研究的目的是确定废水处理人员人群中的职业和健康因素的基线水平，使用易感性评估评分系统对这些因素进行量化，并使用“角色”概念检查相关的易感性特征。利用来自 246 名受访者的调查数据和疾病预防控制中心关于 COVID-19 的公共卫生风险数据，人员分为三个角色群体：“低易感性”、“高职业易感性”和“高健康易感性”。结果突出了性别、年龄、潜在健康状况、工作任务以及与废水接触程度之间的交叉性，并为将个体变量纳入风险评估方法提供了背景，以保护这一重要的劳动力。从业者要点：为废水处理厂人员开发了一种结合健康和职业易感性因素的风险评估框架。废水处理人员分为三个角色群体：“低易感性”、“高职业易感性”和“高健康易感性”。与工作相关的活动和个体健康之间的交叉性为废水处理人员的风险评估提供了整体方法。
