The importance of sanitization in the post Covid era
In the current global context, the focus on sanitization and cleaning of environments has taken on unprecedented importance. From home to the workplace, the need to live and work in clean and safe environments has become a fundamental priority. In this article, we will explore the importance of sanitization, with particular attention to the needs that have emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The importance of sanitation
Sanitizing environments is not only a matter of comfort but also of health and safety. Clean environments not only create a more pleasant and welcoming condition but also significantly reduce the risk of spreading infectious diseases. The presence of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi can lead to a range of illnesses, from common flu to more severe respiratory infections. It can particularly affect vulnerable individuals such as the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. Furthermore, regular cleaning of environments can help reduce the incidence of allergies and respiratory problems, thereby improving the quality of life for those who frequent those spaces. Therefore, investing in environmental sanitation also means investing in the health and well-being of all who use or live in them, whether they are workplaces, schools, hospitals, or homes.
The impact of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about an immediate and dramatic revolution in the perception of hygiene and environmental sanitization. With the rapid spread of the virus globally, an unprecedented awareness has emerged regarding the need to adopt effective preventive measures to limit the transmission of the disease. Regular cleaning and disinfection of environments have become fundamental practices to reduce the risk of contagion and protect people’s health.
The urgent need to control the spread of the virus has led to the adoption of rigorous sanitization protocols in a wide range of environments, including hospitals, schools, offices, and transportation vehicles. Healthcare workers and cleaning staff have worked tirelessly to keep environments as safe and hygienic as possible, implementing more frequent and thorough cleaning procedures.
Furthermore, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of sanitizing surfaces as an integral part of prevention strategies. Scientific studies have shown that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can survive on various surfaces for several hours or even days, increasing the risk of transmission through contact with contaminated objects. Consequently, regular cleaning and sanitization of common surfaces such as door handles, desks, countertops, and touchscreen devices have become standard practices to reduce the risk of contagion.
The COVID-19 pandemic has thus underscored the critical importance of environmental sanitization in protecting public health and containing the spread of infectious diseases. This experience has radically changed the way we consider hygiene and environmental cleanliness, making sanitization an undisputed priority to ensure safe and healthy environments for all.
Need for sanitization in work environments
As we’ve seen so far, maintaining clean and risk-free environments should be a basic guarantee for any type of work or activity. However, it’s important to pay particular attention to environments and workplaces with a high risk of bacterial contamination, such as hospitals, laboratories, and food industries, where sanitization becomes imperative. The presence of pathogens in these environments can compromise the health of workers and the quality of products. Implementing effective sanitization systems is essential to ensure safe and hygienic environments.
Among the various sanitization systems available, one of the most innovative is UV-SAN. This system uses ultraviolet light to eliminate bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms present in environments, providing an effective solution for disinfecting spaces.
Certified sanitation: a guarantee of quality
As we’ve seen, the characteristics of the workspace significantly influence the attitude and productivity of the staff. Corporate well-being directly reflects on the quality of work performed and the motivation of employees. In a stimulating and productive work environment, office cleanliness and environmental care become fundamental.
An ideal work environment is clean, well-lit, and with good air quality, providing a comfortable and safe place to work. This is where certified sanitization comes into play, playing a crucial role in ensuring high standards of hygiene and safety.
During the pandemic emergency period, sanitization was necessary only in certain cases, such as in response to a confirmed infection. However, it wasn’t obligatory, although it represented added value for the company; although it’s still not mandatory, it remains a fundamental tool for achieving health and safety objectives in the workplace.
The Legislative Decree 81/08 establishes the obligations of the employer, including the drafting of the Risk Assessment Document (DVR) and safety training for employees. Certified sanitization is not explicitly required, but it is closely related to achieving these objectives
The cost of illnesses contracted at work due to poor cleanliness
The need to operate in healthy environments also proves to be an economic necessity in a sense, even if one were to overlook the human factor and the risk involved. From a company’s point of view, it’s not even economically convenient to overlook certain aspects or to allow employees to work in certain conditions.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), approximately 2.78 million deaths occur each year due to work-related diseases or conditions. A significant number of these illnesses are attributable to unhealthy working conditions and a lack of hygiene in the workplace. Exposure to microbes and pathogens can lead to a range of diseases, including respiratory infections, gastrointestinal disorders, and dermatitis, causing not only serious health consequences for workers but also significant economic costs for companies and healthcare systems. Contrary to popular belief, this is not just a problem that concerns certain types of companies or those working with specific substances that are certainly more at risk. Regardless of the sector, it is advisable to always keep the premises clean and sanitized: it is precisely when one “lets their guard down” that the risk becomes real.
Conclusion
The importance of environmental sanitation is a highly relevant topic, made even more crucial by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring the cleanliness and hygiene of environments, especially in high-risk bacteriological contexts, is fundamental to protecting the health and safety of everyone. Innovative systems like UV-SAN offer advanced solutions to address these challenges and promote safer and healthier environments for all.
The goal is to recognize sanitation as a matter of primary importance not only in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic but as a “standard practice” for preventing the spread of infectious diseases in the workplace. This topic provides insights for further exploration, even in the coming years, regarding workplace hygiene as well as the health and safety of workers in general and those involved in corporate cleaning and sanitization.
The dramatic experience during the pandemic highlighted a problem often underestimated: the fact that surfaces can be vectors for the transmission of pathogens. This was a significant outcome because it made people aware that cleaning and sanitization are fundamental means of protecting health and preventing pathogenic microorganisms from proliferating on the inanimate surfaces of living and working environments.
Sanitization, in addition to encompassing the concept of building maintenance and the maintenance of conditions of well-being and decorum, thus becomes a true preventive measure. A value that has spread over time from sector operators to the common citizen, who has become increasingly demanding and eager for the environments he frequents – whether public, private, work, leisure, or transportation – to be clean in order to ensure health and safety.
For the first time, sanitation has been seriously discussed, even at the institutional level, representing a “complex of procedures and operations” that includes cleaning activities and disinfection activities, which should be understood as a set of interconnected activities. So much has been written and said that the culture of cleanliness has spread beyond the specific competence of sector operators, making it common to use terms related to machinery, equipment, chemical products, and other technologies designed specifically to achieve certain hygiene standards and following certain procedures.
It can undoubtedly be asserted that, as long as people remember the sacrifices made during COVID and how it was possible to overcome it, thanks also to the raising of cleanliness standards and the workers who made them possible, until then we will have at our disposal an incredible prevention tool that will allow us to live in cleaner, safer, healthier, and consequently, better environments for collective well-being. Environmental sanitization is not just a reactive practice but rather a proactive investment in the health and safety of all who frequent workspaces. Educating about hygiene and sanitation practices, implementing rigorous protocols, and adopting innovative technologies like UV-SAN are crucial steps towards a future where disease prevention in the workplace is an undisputed priority.