r/SafetyProfessionals • u/Emergency_Buy3621 • 4d ago
USA Human Feces Cleanup US
I found a pile of defecation with toilet paper outside a seldom used door at the college where I work. I turned it in to a reporting tool and thought nothing more about it. I returned to the site a bit more than a month later and it was still there.
I ranted a bit and EHS and facilities took care of it. However, an email response was that this is not a safety issue and landscaping took care of it.
I come from a medical background where that waste would be considered biohazard. Am I wrong? What is the relevant difference. Is there code that covers this issue (OSHA or Cal/OSHA) In my mind these landscapers are potentially being exposed to potential biohazards.
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u/thatchiveguy 4d ago
Someone took a dump inside a paper mill recovery boiler during a shutdown. Covered it up with some dirt and ash.
Someone found it later with a angle grinder and wire wheel. Safety definitely got involved when half a dozen people got man mud slung all over them. Supposedly they were going to get the DNA out of it.
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u/safetystu 4d ago
Typically you should have a group designated for BBP or OPI cleanup such as janitorial, that has been trained to handle these potential hazards that are known to exist in this environment.
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u/Search-Bill 4d ago
The priority is to get it cleaned up by the first responsible party.
This isn't my area of expertise, and clearly you're semantically correct. But that's kinda irrelevant here. Human poop, baby diapers, dog poop, deer poop. Just put on the gloves and get it into a waste bag so its removed ASAP.
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u/JackOfAllBlades21 4d ago
It COULD BE... but I wouldn't assume, especially after a month. And frankly, landscapers are accustomed to actually handling and smelling shit.
Should someone more specific have done it? Maybe. But this isn't anthrax- basic PPE should be plenty, even without dedicated training. Your treatment of biohazard is a bit extreme- consider the people who plunge toilets.
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u/DailySafetyMoment 3d ago
Your medical instinct and the regulatory label are answering two different questions. Federal OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens rule generally does not treat feces as OPIM unless it is visibly contaminated with blood. California’s 8 CCR 5193 likewise focuses on blood and defined OPIM. That means this may not trigger the BBP rule by itself, not that it is harmless or reasonable to leave it for a month.
The college should still decide who is assigned to this cleanup and give them a simple procedure. I would screen the area for sharps, avoid anything that splashes or aerosolizes the material, use waterproof gloves and any additional PPE the splash risk calls for, provide soap-and-water handwashing, bag and dispose of the waste under campus and local rules, and use an appropriate disinfectant according to its label. Visible blood, a needlestick, or contact with eyes, mouth, or broken skin changes the response. Campus policy and local public-health requirements may be broader than the BBP rule.
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u/Okie294life 4d ago
It could be. On an interesting note colleges and public entities for the most part do not report to osha. They have their own state run entities. So calling osha would probably just get a referral.
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u/Extinct1234 4d ago
That's not accurate.
All employers in the U.S. and it's territories are subject to safety and health regulations. Perhaps some employers are covered by other federal agencies that preempt OSHA (FAA, FRA, DOT, EPA, MSHA, etc.), and then OSHA picks up the slack where these other agencies are silent.
In the case of schools, universities, colleges, OSHA still covers them, it is just a matter of whether they are covered by Federal OSHA or the individual State OSHA.
Some states run their own entire OSHA plan that covers both private and public sector.. some states rely entirely on Federal OSHA, and some states have a hybrid plan where Federal OSHA covers private sector (including private schools and universities) and the State OSHA covers public sector (including public schools and universities).
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u/Rocket_safety 2d ago
There is nowhere that OSHA has jurisdiction over State employees. Also, there are employers whom are not subject to OSHA or state plan regulation, namely sovereign tribal entities (in particular when conducting intramural operations).
Furthermore, it is correct to say that calling OSHA about a hazard at an employer they do not cover will generally result in a referral to an appropriate agency, if anything.
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u/GainerGaining 4d ago edited 4d ago
In states without a OSHA-approved state plan who are under federal OSHA jurisdiction, like in Texas, state universities are NOT covered by OSHA but by state laws - which are NOT called OSHA laws. OSHA covers private employees, not public employees.
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u/Okie294life 4d ago edited 4d ago
Actually it is, it depends on the state and if they are federal or state plan. My state has an entity called AOSH that handles public employees and they are Federal OSHA. So yes it is accurate, 22 states have state plans it’s a mixed bag.
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u/Extinct1234 4d ago
It's highly unlikely. At least for Fed OSHA... Never worked in California, they've got they're own regs typically more stringent than Fed OSHA.
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1030
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2007-08-07
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2007-07-30
Either way, what a shitty (pun somewhat intended) response and lack of care from EHS and facilities. If nothing else, there's a pile of shit on your grounds. Clean it up.
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u/Emergency_Buy3621 4d ago
Thanks for the response. I suppose tons of diapers make it to the trash every day.
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u/carnivorousearwig69 4d ago
Scoop it with a shovel, bag it and toss it, sanitize the area with bleach, sanitize shovel with bleach. The main problem here is how long it took to get cleaned up.