What with the recent and not-so-recent (and highly admirable) work that friends of mine have been doing in New Orleans, I figured it would be fitting to spread this zine across the internet. It is An Activist's Guide to Health and Safety in New Orleans, and can be found on the website of STORM-NYC, an activist medical health collective.
Hopefully this can be useful to any other readers of How To Break Stuff who plan to go to NOLA again, or who know people planning to go to NOLA again. Knowledge is power, safety is strength, and bodies are tools to keep in good working order.
4 comments:
Hey, that's pretty good, and thorough! I'm glad it puts a lot of emphasis on respirators, water & rest, and aftercare.
It's too bad that so much of the safety/non-contamination precautions around gutting are impossible standards to uphold in practice. Tyvek and full-face respirators in summer doesn't work--quickest way to get heatstroke. Washing your face if your mask shifts and doing the whole refitting procedure every time you have to take it off (which can easily be every 20 minutes in hot weather or if your nose is running)? Changing clothes before you drive home--where, in the front yard? Hello sex crimes statute. Washing the clothes you drive home in before wearing them again? Ha! And containing construction dust in plastic sheeting? Ahhh ha ha ha ha! Oh, *wipes away tears*, oh man...
Tyveks are a luxury item in those conditions. And actually the respirator decon we were doing is totally in accordance wish NIOSH. And a *PROPERLY FITTING* half-face resp is just as good as a full face in these conditions. The problem is the MASSIVE cross-contamination of the environment itself. We do refit everytime we have to take the resps off, which is why I really like the MSA cartridges--the intake is small enough that your hand can cover them to fit-test with the cartridges on. Also allows you to test the cartridge seal *itself*, which is why, IMO, the 3ms are dangerous: those pancake filters dont seal right 100% of the time, and even with their cartridge filters the intake is to big to cover. If you cant test the filter-seal, it really doesn't matter how often you test the fit. North respirators also have good filter designs in that regard, and AOsafety is halfway decent.
Decon in theory is really nice. But decon in practice is more about keeping your respirator in excellent condition and keeping your immune system in top shape because in a situation like new orleans, in-theory decontamination is about as possible as getting the Nat'l guard to help moving a fridge.
Also, a few addendum. First, there's a very very fine balance between danger from mold and danger from heatstroke. As long as you practice regular hygiene habits, shower post-site, and aren't compromised, you don't really need a tyvek in 75% of situations, and REALLY dont need a long sleeve shirt. Jeans are important, but mostly for their very mild cut-and-scrape protection. Bodily coverage is great, but should be seen as lower priority than heat-stroke prevention. Mold, in small doses (momentary direct exposure, a few days of indirect exposure) is usually well within a healthy immune systems ability to fend off. There's only one documented case of a mold infection in post katrina new orleans affecting someone who didn't have a compromised immune system (in the medical sense. i.e. AIDS). This is, at least, what they told me when they thought they were treating me for mold after my last trip. The real danger is the presence of bacteria due to foodstuffs that have been exposed for a year and a half and to dead animals. Respirators defend against *some* of this. A healthy immune system and a work schedule that gives you relatively light work once every four or so days is *way* more important than what one wears on the job.
Second, as for respirators, it is *VERY* important to note that OV and Multigas cartridges keep you from smelling most things. This means that your ability to detect dangers like a gas leak is virtually destroyed. (thus, keep in mind, if you're healthy, momentary exposure to moldy air, if such an other danger is suspected, is ok). I use a p100 multigas cartridge exclusively, and would never recommend anything less for this kind of work (they're not too pricey), but one NEEDS to be aware of that drawback.
Third, still on respirators, filter life. Never trust a filter thats been exposed for over a month. to my knowledge, ONLY p rated filters are certified by NIOSH standards to not have a drop in filtering efficiency as their use increases (within a 30-day life span). usually the mark of a dead p-class filter is that its hard to breathe through it. the quick and dirty test is if you can breathe easily through it, its good. But, if its been exposed for more than 30 days, you should be wary of it no matter how easy it is to breathe through.
Fourth, and also on respirators: dont leave respirators with OV or multigas cartridges out in the sun. The cartridges are made of material like activated charcoal that will function as a heat sink. Once they're warmed by the sun they stay warm for a long time and will heat the air you breathe in, making it potentially hard to breathe.
Final word on respirators: *visually* inspect the valves. if the valves are starting to get misshapen or distorted, or any of the hardware attaching the valves is damaged, its time for a new respirator ASAP. misshapen valves can still seal, but there's only a little bit of life left in it at that point.
Yeah, we check respirators for fit each time, but not that whole wash your hands put on new gloves wave something smelly in front of your face process. And it's weird that the smell test is recommended at all--it's really only with the top-quality and activated charcoal filters that you can't smell. Plus it's kind of subjective--with the palms-covering-intake-valves, you know when you're not getting any leakage. And who specially carries something smelly around with them? Just go in the house and sniff a moldy book.
Also should be in there: emphasize risk of tetanus and staph infection from stepping on nails, rusty pipes, bug/spider bites--need to clean and cover any break in the skin, and get medical care if needed. And have an eye flush available. And be careful with your drinking water.
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