Tag Archives: Truckers

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Coronavirus

Truckers Need Face Masks, Too

Truckers need face masks. They travel alone a lot, isolated in truck cabs, often with little direct contact with other people. While this may lower their risk of catching or spreading COVID-19, they must still protect themselves and others when making even brief stops along their route.

There is no assurance that a person who talks, coughs or sneezes – or even breathes heavily – as they walk by is not infected. Many people don’t realize they are infected, because they may be infectious BEFORE they feel any symptoms.

Drivers may feel a false sense of security at familiar customer sites, truck stops or other public places. This is especially true if they don’t expect lengthy social interactions. Wearing a face mask helps keep drivers and others safe, along with social distancing and other prevention measures.

High-Risk Truckers Need Face Masks Even More

Long-haul truckers may make repeat trips to hotspot areas of the country. Traveling from one hotspot region to another, and another, puts them at increased risk for exposure to the coronavirus.

Some drivers serve clients who are operating high-risk worksites, such as meatpacking plants. Often, drivers need to wait while a trailer is loaded. At a minimum, there is interaction required to handle the paperwork when picking up or dropping off a load.

All drivers need to interact people along their journey. Truck stops often have drive-through fast-food options that allow truckers to avoid indoor dining. Some we have spoken with report that these fast-food lanes are now more crowded than usual, as the general public utilizes them to also avoid inside dining. Truckers need to keep up the pace to finish their runs on time, so may opt to go into a store or fast-food restaurant to get food rather than use the drive-throughs, increasing their risk of exposure.

Using a mask, practicing social distancing and following hand washing protocols are the best tools available to keep drivers, and their families, safe. Truckers need face masks, too.

More Information For Truckers About Face Masks

As part of the Keep Trucking Safe program, a Tip Sheet is available with information about the use of face masks for truckers. You can download the Tip Sheet here.

The Tip Sheet covers selecting the right mask, how properly use and care for the mask, and has a link for more information if use of a respirator is needed.

The Keep Trucking Safe program is run by the Trucking Injury Reduction Emphasis (TIRES), a project of the Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) program of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

Prior Posts on Related Topics
Cancer

Diesel Fumes and Lung Cancer

Diesel Fumes Cause Lung Cancer

Today’s post comes from guest author Leonard Jernigan from The Jernigan Law Firm.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. It’s greater than breast and colon cancer in women and greater than prostate, colon, pancreatic and liver cancer in men. If diagnosed early there is a 70-80% survival rate for 5 years, and a low-dose CT scan of the chest can detect 60-70% of lung cancers at an early stage. Unfortunately, there has been no significant progress in the treatment of lung cancer in 40 years and between 10,000–20,000 occupational lung cancer deaths occur each year in the United States.

One area of concern is the relationship between diesel exhaust exposure and lung cancer. In June of 2012 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans, and studies of underground miners support that statement and also indicate that others who are around diesel fumes may be at an increased risk. Toxic chemicals in diesel gas are nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, benzene, PAHS (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), aldehydes and nitro-PAHS.

Railroad workers, miners, truck drivers, bus operators, longshoremen and others who have been heavily exposed to diesel fumes are obviously at greater risk than those with less exposures, but even minimal exposures may cause harm. In urban areas, like lower Manhattan, there is concern that diesel exposures may be a public health hazard and detection systems have been placed in areas to collect exposure data. As for workers who have experienced intense, short-term duration to diesel fumes, a chemical called 1-hydroxypyrene may be elevated in urine, but the test for this marker is not performed by most commercial laboratories. The Mount Sinai – Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine is studying diesel exposure and may be a good resource for future information, as well as the National Clean Diesel Campaign: www.epa.gov/diesel.