Risks of exposure to microbial contamination in eyewash stations

Clifford S Swanson; Justice M Williams; Qiang He

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2022.11.009

Risks of exposure to microbial contamination in eyewash stations

Am J Infect Control. 2023 Jul;51(7):838-840. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.11.009. Epub 2022 Nov 21.

Authors

Clifford S Swanson¹, Justice M Williams², Qiang He³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.
² Division of Natural Sciences, Maryville College, Maryville, TN.
³ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN; Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. Electronic address: qianghe@utk.edu.

PMID: 36410552
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.11.009

Abstract

Emergency eyewash stations are important safety equipment characterized by long water age. Significant increases in microbial contamination were detected in eyewash stations with water ages longer than 1 day. Enterobacter and Mycobacterium were identified in high abundance in eyewash stations with prolonged water age, suggesting eyewash stations as potential sources of pathogen exposure. Proper eyewash flushing was shown to be an effective practice to mitigate risks of exposure to microbial contaminants from eyewash use.

Keywords: Enterobacter; Mycobacterium; Stagnation; Water age.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Equipment Contamination*
Humans
Water Microbiology
Water Supply*

Grants and funding

R25 ES028976/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States