Welcome to ZZ Chatham Hospital

Hazardous Materials Plan

PURPOSE
To identify Hazardous Chemicals in the Hospital.

Each department using hazardous chemicals needs:

An inventory list of the hazardous materials in the department.

MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) on each hazardous chemical readily available to the employees on all shifts at all times through the “MSDS On Demand” program. Telephone and Fax are available through each Department or through the Fax number at Registration Office (919-799-4501).

A written program for training employees and keeping them aware of hazards; each department is responsible for employee training, and for documentation of this training.

Each hazardous chemical container must be labeled with the name of the chemical, the health warnings, and the name of the manufacturer.

The Emergency Department will keep a copy of each department's MSDS inventory list.

The Safety Director will review the hospital and laboratory hazardous chemical program at least annually to ensure that it reflects current usage.

During the orientation of new employees the Safety Director or designee will give the new employees a general acquaintance with the law (North Carolina Hazard Communication Standard). Specific training in each department and its documentation is the responsibility of the department.

Contractors must be informed of the hazards to which their employees may be exposed.

Preventive Maintenance Contract for Hospital Equipment:
Each Department Director is responsible for notifying servicemen here for preventive maintenance of equipment in his/her department of the hazards to which they may be exposed.

Construction Projects:
The Administrator is responsible for notifying the Maintenance Department of planned construction. The Administrator has the responsibility to notify the contractor of the hazards or to delegate this to the maintenance supervisor at the time he is notified of the proposed construction.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS POLICY

Criteria for identifying hazardous materials include:

Causes or worsens illness.

A hazard to human health or environment.

Contains toxic constituents as described in various official publications (EPT, NFPA, etc.)

The vendors from whom we receive materials and supplies are responsible for sending Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). If they have not done so within 30 days, we must contact them and request the sheets. Materials Management is responsible for giving the MSDS's which they receive to the Safety Director, who is responsible for keeping the Master lists in ED. The Laboratory receives most of their own MSDS's directly, and gives a copy to the Safety Officer, to include in the Master list.

STORAGE OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Flammable materials are stored in a designated room in the Shop Building, which is dedicated to that purpose. It is kept locked. The Fire Chief of Siler City is kept informed of any amount stored more than 55 gallons or 500 pounds.

Medical gases, and non-flammable gases, are stored in a room reserved for them, located in Materiel Management near the loading dock.

Liquid Oxygen is stored in a tank behind the hospital near the loading dock. There is a contract with a licensed vendor for the regular supply of all gases.

The Hospital has a contract with a linen service. All dirty linen is taken to the soiled linen room for pickup by the linen service.

HANDLING

MSDS: to comply with the Right-To-Know law, all associates have readily available access to MSDS through the “MSDS On Demand” program. Telephone and Fax are available at each department or through Registration.

See Infection Control policies for more detailed description. Gloves are readily available in all patient care areas, and personnel are required to wear them any time they may have contact with any blood or body fluids, mucus membrane, or non-intact skin. Goggles are also required.

WASTE DISPOSAL

This is a brief summary; more complete policies may be found in Infection Control Policies, Housekeeping, Maintenance, and Laboratory policies. Details on control of waste anesthesia gases may be found in the policies of the Anesthesia Department.

Biohazardous Waste
The waste is placed in red bags for biomedical. The bags are then placed in heavy pasteboard boxes and sealed. Housekeeping collects them and takes them to a designated locked storage room on the loading dock used for this purpose. The pickup of the bags and delivery to the storage building occurs daily. Sterigenics picks up the waste from the Hazardous Waste storage room.

Blood: Bulk Products
Disposed of through city sewer system.

Waste Gases
Ethylene Oxide is not used in this hospital at this time. Waste Anesthesia gases are collected in a scavenger system and vented to the outside. Periodically, the air exchange in the Operating Room and waste gases will be monitored.

Infection Waste
See Biohazardous waste procedures.

Radioactive Wastes
In the event of radioactive contamination, water is used to wash, irrigate or shower a contaminated patient, and the water is allowed to go down in the holding tank outside the ED. Everything else is saved in double plastic bags until a nuclear physicist arrives to supervise the handling and disposal.

Sharps, Needles
All sharps and needles are disposed of in puncture proof containers, which are supplied by Kendall products.

Trash
General garbage, daily pickup from all areas of the hospital; bags are sealed and taken to the compactor on the Loading Dock. The compactor is picked up and disposed of by Allied Waste on call. The grounds should be kept free of trash.

Glass
Glass (bottles, pieces of glass, etc.) is to be placed in the cardboard “isolation boxes”, and the boxes to be marked “glass”. The boxes are to be lined with a red plastic bag. Housekeeping collects the boxes and takes them to the Hazardous Waste storage room.

Asbestos Removal

Containers, bags or barriers may be used around work area.

Tyvek, or equivalent, disposable coveralls are worn, as well as disposable head covers and shoe covers. Vinyl or disposable latex gloves are recommended; if they are not used, the hands and fingernails must be carefully cleaned after the work is done. Respirators, of a type approved by OSHA and NIOSH for use with asbestos, worn to protect against airborne asbestos fibers. When the work is done, the disposable outerwear is discarded into plastic bags, which are sealed before disposal.

The asbestos is wetted down before cutting or disturbing it, to help prevent disturbing the fibers and releasing them into the air.

All cleanup is done by wet mopping, and wiping surfaces with damp cloths. The Housekeeping personnel must be instructed to use only wet mopping in cleanup.

Disposal of asbestos will be the responsibility of the Company handling asbestos.

US Patent Numbers 7,720,998 B2, 7,836,207