Individuals with disabilities or diseases who work in or wish to work in the cleanroom pose special problems. Not only must these conditions be dealt with to minimize contamination but, in the U.S. under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), companies may not discriminate against the disabled. Companies must first determine if the job applicant is qualified, then they must determine, if some affliction is present, whether the applicant can adapt to the conditions of the job. If the applicant is able to do the job but some accommodations must be made to utilize this individual's skills, the company must make arrangements do so. These costs must not be excessive.
Further, employees already on the payroll may develop diseases and conditions which make them unable to work in the cleanroom, whether temporarily or permanently. This paper deals with the means to accommodate the disabled and those with medical conditions The disabilities addressed in this paper are physical (mobility, hearing, and sight), mental, and emotional.
Individuals can be empowered to overcome their disabilities with knowledgeable assistance and support. Many with non-disability diseases can be hired but each must be assessed in accordance with the criteria of the cleanroom. The following afflictions, either temporary or chronic, are incompatible with cleanroom activity:
- Uncontrollable itching or skin flaking
- Coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, and throat clearing
- Uncontrollable palsy
PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS The principal physical limitations which may affect performance in a cleanroom are lack of mobility (paraplegia, broken bones), deafness, blindness, respiratory diseases, skin problems, tics, palsies, and conditions such as narcolepsy.
MOBILITY - Individuals with mobility problems may be accommodated by providing cleanroom-dedicated crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs. The cleanroom wheelchairs should be electrically driven rather than hand driven. Wheelchair-bound individuals may have trouble passing through an air shower without assistance. Special care must be taken of these individuals during emergencies.
BROKEN BONES - Plaster casts and all areas of exposed skin must be entirely covered with plastic or the cleanroom garment. Those with arms in a cast must be reassigned.
BLINDNESS AND DEAFNESS - Seeing and hearing disabilities require slight modification of the work station to facilitate effective performance. Additional assistance must be provided to afflicted individuals for locating materials and alerting them to hazards. With simple, low cost modifications to the work stations, these individuals can function normally. Special care must be taken of these individuals during emergencies.
RESPIRATORY - Respiratory ailments such as emphysema, asthma, chronic coughing or sneezing, and allergies to chemicals and clothing found in cleanrooms may affect cleanroom performance. Those identified with persistent sneezing, coughing, or heavy nasal discharge or with allergies, if present in the cleanroom, to fumes, molds, etc. must be barred from the cleanroom. These conditions necessitate the removal of the facemask to wipe one's nose, increase the challenge to facemasks, and increase the number of particles projected into the cleanroom by sneezing or coughing when no facemask is worn. Individuals suffering these ailments can neither work cleanly nor will they be comfortable working in a facemask.
SKIN CONDITIONS - Cleanroom garments, especially those made from the older woven fabrics, are challenged by the particles generated by the body, clothing, and activity of the wearer. For minimum contamination, it is necessary to reduce the challenge to the fabric. The requirements for personal clothing which contributes a great many particles, are not covered in this paper. Those individuals with psoriasis or other shedding skin diseases should be 'double-bagged', i.e., have two layers of fabric over the skin. The individual, so dressed, may be uncomfortable in areas near ovens or other heat sources. Those with scabies or poison ivy, who cannot control their itching may have to work outside of the cleanroom until the itching subsides.
Occasionally, an individual's skin is too oily, too acid, or too sweaty to work cleanly with nylon gloves. Afflicted individuals should wear latex or other membrane gloves under the nylon. Some barrier gloves, latex and nitrile especially, contain accelerating chemicals which may cause contact dermatitis to sensitive individuals.
TICS AND PALSIES - In most cases, individuals afflicted with tics (i.e., Tourette's Syndrome) and palsies may operate adequately under medication. Provision for taking medication should be made for these individuals in the change room when necessary.
GENERAL - Personnel with ailments, such as allergies (hay fever, hives, or poison ivy), colds, or coughs should be assigned temporary non-cleanroom work. This is standard practice in some companies.
MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL LIMITATIONS
Obvious, severe mental or emotional instability will keep affected individuals out of work in most instances. However, affected individuals, and those with problems such as narcolepsy, who pose a safety hazard, may be on medication requiring timed doses. Provision for taking medication should be made for these individuals in the change room when necessary. Developmentally handicapped individuals require additional training and supervision and can do simple, repetitive tasks with low judgment factors.
People who experience claustrophobia cannot function well in a cleanroom. Any trait which causes excessive movement, fidgeting, or gregariousness will generate excessive contamination. Hyperactives and socializers create contamination by their actions if they cannot control these tendencies while working in the cleanroom.
COSMETICS - Those who must, for cosmetic reasons, cover facial birthmarks with heavy pancake makeup cannot work in the cleanroom with the defect covered. Those who wear makeup may be required to wear a cleanroom helmet with the air supplied from a pump on the belt or from an in-house clean air supply.
SENSITIVITY
The issues raised in this paper must be addressed with sensitivity and compliance with the above mentioned law plus other hiring regulations. The dignity and privacy of an individual must be respected. In some cases, safety and health issues may also have to be considered.
CONCLUSIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS