By Jason Lotter, Scott Dotson, Corey Boles
Since the first cases in the U.S. emerged in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the personal and work lives of individuals across the country. Personal habits, social interactions, travel and business practices have been impacted. Grocers, ranging from single, family-owned stores to nationwide supermarket chains, have continued operations as essential businesses throughout the pandemic and have been forced to answer challenging questions that other businesses are only now having to consider, such as:
- How can we ensure the safety and health of our workers and customers?
- Are certain groups of workers at greater risk of COVID-19?
- Can the implementation of click list services (pickup or delivery) aid in reducing workers’ and customers’ risk of infection?
- How should we respond if there is a reemergence of COVID-19?
Although governmental agencies, such as the CDC, OSHA, and FDA, have developed guidance to assist businesses with a broad range of topics related to COVID-19, these recommendations are often not business-sector specific nor intended to address the challenging questions above. In place of such general recommendations, businesses are actively developing COVID-19 risk management plans, which demonstrate to their customers and workforce that they are responding to COVID-19 with a focus on safety and health.
Developing Risk Management Plans
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique situation for grocers, which has required a risk management strategy incorporating a combination of engineering controls, administrative controls and personal protective equipment (PPE). As with any risk management approach, those addressing COVID-19 should be multi-layered and customized to the grocer’s operations. Another important aspect of risk management during COVID-19 for grocers is risk balance. Simply put, grocers should ensure that the risk management plans they implement do not themselves contribute to the unintentional spread of COVID-19 or contribute additional risks to workers and customers.
Considerations for implementation of a multi-layered risk management approaches include:
- Chemical Disinfection – The active ingredients in many disinfectant products are inhalation and dermal hazards and may present risks to not only workers, but to customers as well, if not properly used. Employee training is key to the safe use of disinfectants, as unintentional mixing of certain chemicals can generate hazardous gases, which have resulted in acute health effects or even death. Chemical disinfectants have prescribed contact times, which the amount of time that the chemical must remain on the surface to be effective. For frequently-touched surfaces (e.g., shopping cart handles), grocers should consider a selection of disinfectants with lower contact times or store practices that allow for adequate time between disinfectant application and customer use.
- Alternative Disinfection Technologies – In addition to more established methods, such as use of disinfectants from EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) , grocers may consider incorporation of newer technology (e.g., UV irradiation) with an understanding of their proper uses and limitations. For instance, UV irradiation will not penetrate surfaces and pre-cleaning of dirty surfaces may be required.
- Physical Barriers — The use of transparent barriers (e.g., Plexiglas) can be an effective means to reduce the likelihood of droplet transmission between customers and cashiers. However, installation of barriers should be performed in consultation with a ventilation specialist as these barriers may create unwanted air mixing in areas surrounding cash registers. This may allow for an increase in spread of droplets in these areas if not properly designed.
Another risk management aspect that grocers should take into consideration is the perception of risk associated with the virus, or an individual’s subjective judgment regarding the risk of becoming infected. The perception of risk can differ significantly between individuals. For instance, while many people may already feel safe shopping without the use of facemasks, other individuals may not feel comfortable doing so even long after their use is no longer mandated. Thus, in implementation of risk management strategies for COVID-19, it is important that grocers consider not only how a typical customer feels, but also how the most sensitive or risk averse customer feels.
Risk communications play a vital role in responding to customers’ risk perceptions, as well as building trust in the company and organization among both workers and customers. Just as customers are demanding increased transparency in food preparation and other aspects of their grocery shopping experience, transparency in efforts to control COVID-19 may be a factor for many customers in deciding where to shop. If approached properly, trust can be gained by providing an interactive and ongoing communication strategy in which both workers and customers are active participants. Above all, risk communications should demonstrate a clear commitment from management to prioritize health and safety.
Examples of risk communications for grocers include:
- A risk communication approach that incorporates signage and illustrations within the store about the current risk management strategy
- Grocers leveraging social media to communicate with their customer base by detailing the unique risk management approaches they are implementing
- Communications that are not simply a rebranding of governmental guidelines, but detail the unique strategies being implemented for those operations
Such approaches help instill confidence that the grocer is going above and beyond what is required to protect workers and customers. It also addresses the concern regarding the varying levels of risk perception from person to person. While adequate risk communication helps demonstrate that the grocer is taking the current situation seriously, it also allows the store to remain open and operate efficiently for people who do not perceive the risk of COVID-19 to be high. Therefore, the understanding and incorporation of risk perception and risk communication are vital components of a risk management strategy.
At the time of writing this article, the U.S. is still in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as our economy begins to reopen. The very idea of ‘return to normal’ has been questioned, given the changes in personal habits and business operations that are likely to remain long after the pandemic has subsided. The health and safety policies implemented by grocers will be added to the list of customer considerations when choosing where and how to shop. To ensure the health and safety of both workers and customers, grocers should develop risk management plans for COVID-19 that are based on informed guidance and are customized to the unique operations of a given store. Importantly, control strategies should be transparent and emphasized by management in order to respond to individuals’ perceptions regarding risk.
Dr. G. Scott Dotson is a senior managing health scientist with Cardno ChemRisk with over 15 years of experience in areas of toxicology, industrial hygiene, risk assessment, and occupational health. Prior to joining Cardno ChemRisk, he was employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a health scientist for over 10 years.
Mr. Jason Lotter, MS, CIH principal areas of training and expertise include industrial hygiene, exposure and risk assessment, and occupational safety. He has been involved in researching, measuring, and reconstructing exposures, and assessing risks to consumers and workers from a variety of chemicals
Dr. Corey Boles completed his Ph.D. in Occupational and Environmental Health with an emphasis on Industrial Hygiene from The University of Iowa College of Public Health. Dr. Boles’s research focused on developing, evaluating and implementing exposure assessment techniques for occupational and environmental exposure to bioaerosols. Dr. Boles also optimized sampling methodologies for the collection of human norovirus, general bacteria, and influenza A.
Cardno ChemRisk is a globally renowned scientific consulting firm with expertise in evaluating and understanding human health risks, technical capabilities, industry leadership, and a pioneering spirit that is based in San Francisco, CA. It specializes in helping clients characterize occupational, environmental and community health risks associated with complex exposures involving chemicals, pharmaceutical agents, or radionuclides in the environment, the workplace and in consumer goods. For more information about the company, contact Luda Kopelovich, MPH, [email protected], 415.618.3467.