Citation

Endo Y, Ohsawa A, Yamaguma M. Int. J. Occup. Safety Ergonomics 2019; 25(1): 35-39.

Affiliation

Technology Institution of Industrial , Sayama , Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Centralny Instytut Ochrony Pracy - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10803548.2018.1424793

PMID

29322859

Abstract

We investigated the charge generated on bedclothes (cotton and polyester) during bedding exchange with different humidities and the ignitability of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (72.3 mass% ethanol) due to static spark with different temperatures to identify the hazards of electrostatic shocks and ignitions previously occurred in medical facilities. The results indicated that the charging of the polyester bedclothes may induce human body potential of over about 10 kV, resulting in shocks even at the relative humidity of 50%, and the human body potential of higher than about 8 kV can cause the risk of the ignition of the hand sanitizer. The grounding the human bodies via footwear and flooring, therefore, is essential to avoid such hazards (or to reduce such risks).

Language: en

Keywords

Subject classification codes: include these here if the journal requires them; electrostatic shock; hand sanitizer; ignition; medical facility; static electricity