Final answer:
Selecting and properly wearing PPE involves understanding the risks, choosing appropriate gear, ensuring a proper fit, using the equipment correctly, and maintaining personal and equipment cleanliness.
Step-by-step explanation:
To select and properly wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the protection of skin, eyes, and the respiratory tract, consider the following steps:
- Choice of PPE: Choose PPE that is appropriate for the risks involved in your particular work setting. This may include gloves, safety goggles, face shields, and respirators. Knowing where the specific safety equipment, such as the fire extinguisher and the eyewash station, is located in your workplace is also important.
- Proper Fit: Ensure the PPE fits correctly and comfortably, which includes adjusting to the correct size. For example, a protective suit for working in BSL-4 laboratories should maintain a positive pressure relative to the outside so that if a leak occurs, air will flow out of the suit, not into it from the laboratory.
- Usage: Wear gloves when working with cultures and make sure to dispose of them properly afterwards. Safety glasses or goggles should be used for eye protection. For the respiratory tract, respirators will provide the needed protection.
- Cleanliness: Maintain proper personal hygiene and ensure that your PPE is clean and unbroken. Personnel handling contaminated specimens or equipment must immediately wash any contact with skin without scrubbing.
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