CAUT

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

<Choir: The church choir in Washington State. Even though people were aware of the virus and took steps to minimize transfer; e.g. they avoided the usual handshakes and hugs hello, people also brought their own music to avoid sharing, and socially distanced themselves during practice. A single asymptomatic carrier infected most of the people in attendance. The choir sang for 2 1/2 hours, inside an enclosed church which was roughly the size of a volleyball court.

Singing, to a greater degree than talking, aerosolizes respiratory droplets extraordinarily well. Deep-breathing while singing facilitated those respiratory droplets getting deep into the lungs. Two and half hours of exposure ensured that people were exposed to enough virus over a long enough period of time for infection to take place. Over a period of 4 days, 45 of the 60 choir members developed symptoms, 2 died. The youngest infected was 31, but they averaged 67 years old. (ref)>

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

• Interview, conversation with customer, confirming that both are symptom free, that there has been no contact with infected people, and that you have been engaged in social distancing
• Tuner will arrive with mask and gloves, and they will stay on for the duration.
• Door will be unlocked, tuner will open and close it (using gloves).
• Customer and others in the house will maintain distance at all times, will retreat to another room while piano is tuned.
• Contact of tools with the piano will be normal: ie, the interior of the tuning hammer tip will contact a small portion of each tuning pin; mutes and ETD, etc. will be placed on plate web or interior of upright, in areas the customer is unlikely to have touched or to touch in the future.
• Payment: if by check, the check will be placed where the tuner can pick it up; alternately (recommended) use Venmo, PayPal, or the like.

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

Margaret

Two people wearing a mask in proximity to each other just decreases the probability of transmission.  It doesn't guarantee it under any circumstances.  As many have pointed out it's probably more important for the infected person to be wearing the mask since it prevents projectile coughing to some degree.  If the mask is porous enough it will allow some penetration.  But the issue is not if you get "any" exposure, it's how much exposure.  You need to receive amount of the virus to get infected.  Wearing a mask helps on both sides.

BTW I don't think you're full of crap ;-)

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

Margaret

Two people wearing a mask in proximity to each other just decreases the probability of transmission.  It doesn't guarantee it under any circumstances.  As many have pointed out it's probably more important for the infected person to be wearing the mask since it prevents projectile coughing to some degree.  If the mask is porous enough it will allow some penetration.  But the issue is not if you get "any" exposure, it's how much exposure.  You need to receive amount of the virus to get infected.  Wearing a mask helps on both sides.

BTW I don't think you're full of crap ;-)

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

Margaret

Two people wearing a mask in proximity to each other just decreases the probability of transmission.  It doesn't guarantee it under any circumstances.  As many have pointed out it's probably more important for the infected person to be wearing the mask since it prevents projectile coughing to some degree.  If the mask is porous enough it will allow some penetration.  But the issue is not if you get "any" exposure, it's how much exposure.  You need to receive amount of the virus to get infected.  Wearing a mask helps on both sides.

BTW I don't think you're full of crap ;-)

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"

Good afternoon, Cy Shuster:

I hope all is going well for you. My name is Ken Marshall,  I'm a health consultant for NM OHSB (OSHA). I have received the consultation request form you submitted online. Thank you for sending in the request!

As for your specific request you ask for "guidance in being able to safely work in people's homes, where I'll spend two hours touching their piano, which they will then in turn spend a lot of time touching. Can the virus be transmitted from hard surfaces in the piano to my metal tools? Do I need to disinfect tools between each customer?"

Answer: yes and yes…

Additional information:

The transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 infection, is continually being evaluated. I have not come across any specific evidence involving pianos and metal tool transmission; but there is evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is able to cling to these hard surfaces, then be transferred to you or someone else either by direct contact or becoming re-aerosolized. So, the best practice would be to decontaminate these tools with an EPA recommended chemical after each potential exposure. The decontamination process should be done as soon as possible (before getting into your vehicle) to limit the potential spread. In general you should approach each customer with the suspicion that there is SARS-CoV-2 inside their home and your customer is actively shedding the virus, or you have it and will be shedding it too. That said, OSHA does have a webpage that addresses 'in-home repair services'. For the most part, so long as you are not entering a home with someone suspected of having COVID-19 or known to have it, then the risk level to you is 'medium' for Albuquerque and much of NM. If you do go into a home with someone suspected or known to have COVID-19 then the risk would be 'high'. The 'very high' risk is going into someone's home who is known to have COVID-19 and there is no way to isolate you from them or there is activities within the work space that could re-aerosolize SARS-CoV-2 (using compressed air for cleaning the piano or dry sweeping?) I would recommend that you stay out of the high or very high exposure risk category. If your work practice involves generating dust then you really need to try to eliminate that practice or implement an engineer control to mitigate the risk to yourself.

The recommendations OHSA puts forth in 'in-home repair services' contain very useful information; please look over that webpage. OSHA's website on COVID-19, as well as the CDC is being updated as new information becomes available. I recommend that you look into wearing in addition to the cloth facemask Gov. Grisham has talked about, a pair of cotton coveralls (or some other easily removed outer garment), along with foot & hair coverings. This serves a couple of purposes: first, it tells your customer that you have their wellbeing in mind, and second, taking these items off prior to entering your vehicle will lessen the chance of spreading the virus. The coveralls can be placed in a plastic bag to be decontaminated later at home or laundry mat. The boot & hair coverings dispose of along with any disposable gloves you might have on during the work. Leave your facemask on while you take off the coveralls, boot and head cover. I know this sounds like an over-kill but this virus is spreading in ways previously not thought to be of any importance. So what sounds like an over-kill now might turn out to be a common practice tomorrow. Frequent use of hand sanitizer/washing hands is important. Especially when taking off these layers of clothing (personal protective equipment or PPE). It is not known how many viral particles of SARS-CoV-2 is required to become sick with COVID-19, so the lowest possible exposure is going to be best.

Keep in mind that these steps you, & everyone else, are implementing are very unique and will add time to your schedule. Be sure to plan accordingly. By you demonstrating these practices in front of your customers sends a strong message to them and the community that you value them and their on-going commitment to stopping the spread of this virus.

Cy, I hope this helps to answer your question. The consultation service offered by OSHA is normally done in person, so doing this from home via e-mail presents some challenges for both of us. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.   

Regards,

Ken Marshall

Health & Safety Consultant

New Mexico Environment Department

Occupational Health and Safety Bureau

121 Tijeras Avenue NE, Suite 1000

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3400

Office:  (505) 222-9591

Kenneth.Marshall@state.nm.us

https://www.env.nm.gov/occupational_health_safety/consultation-program/

Twitter: @NMEnvDep | #IamNMED

"Innovation, Science, Collaboration, Compliance"