Management of biomedical waste in two medical laboratories in Bangui, Central African Republic

Introduction: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 73 healthcare workers in two laboratories in Bangui, using self administered questionnaire and scale grid to get information on knowledge and practice of management biomedical waste (BMW). Methods: Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20). Fisher chi-square test was used to investigate whether distributions of categorical variables differ from one another. Results: Findings from this study shows that; a gap in legal framework on BMW. Seventy percent of waste generated was infectious. Segregation and color coding was inappropriate. Only 29% of the services used safety boxes. Transport of BW is manual. About 64 % of respondents have not received training on BMW. 44 of 73 (60%) didn’t know certain diseases related to poor waste management and transmission routes. The surface technicians had significantly better knowledge about tetanus vaccine than the medical-technical staff (χ2 = 4.976, p=0.047). They had also a significantly higher risk of exposure to accidents due to waste handling than medical-technical (χ2=10.276, p=0.009). The 30-39 age group had a significantly higher risk of exposure to accidents related to the BMW compared to other ages groups (χ2=11.206, p=0.026).The National Laboratory personal has significantly higher knowledge about BCG and Meningitis vaccine than the Laboratory of Community Hospital personal (χ2=10.954, p=0.002 and χ2=4.304, p=0.05). Conclusion: BMW was poor. Collaboration between the City Hall and sanitation services with the support of partners will greatly reduce the risk of exposure faced by laboratory personnel and the population.Pan African Medical Journal 2016; 2

Minimization and management of wastes from biomedical research.

Several committees were established by the National Association of Physicians for the Environment to investigate and report on various topics at the National Leadership Conference on Biomedical Research and the Environment held at the 1--2 November 1999 at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. This is the report of the Committee on Minimization and Management of Wastes from Biomedical Research. Biomedical research facilities contribute a small fraction of the total amount of wastes generated in the United States, and the rate of generation appears to be decreasing. Significant reductions in generation of hazardous, radioactive, and mixed wastes have recently been reported, even at facilities with rapidly expanding research programs. Changes in the focus of research, improvements in laboratory techniques, and greater emphasis on waste minimization (volume and toxicity reduction) explain the declining trend in generation. The potential for uncontrolled releases of wastes from biomedical research facilities and adverse impacts on the general environment from these wastes appears to be low. Wastes are subject to numerous regulatory requirements and are contained and managed in a manner protective of the environment. Most biohazardous agents, chemicals, and radionuclides that find significant use in research are not likely to be persistent, bioaccumulative, or toxic if they are released. Today, the primary motivations for the ongoing efforts by facilities to improve minimization and management of wastes are regulatory compliance and avoidance of the high disposal costs and liabilities associated with generation of regulated wastes. The committee concluded that there was no evidence suggesting that the anticipated increases in biomedical research will significantly increase generation of hazardous wastes or have adverse impacts on the general environment. This conclusion assumes the positive, countervailing trends of enhanced pollution prevention efforts by facilities and reductions in waste generation resulting from improvements in research methods will continue

Environmental health discipline science plan

The purpose of this plan is to provide a conceptual strategy for NASA's Life Sciences Division research and development activities in environmental health. It covers the significant research areas critical to NASA's programmatic requirements for the Extended Duration Orbiter, Space Station Freedom, and exploration mission science activities. These science activities include ground-based and flight; basic, applied, and operational; animal and human subjects; and research and development. This document summarizes the history and current status of the program elements, outlines available knowledge, establishes goals and objectives, identifies scientific priorities, and defines critical questions in the three disciplines: (1) Barophysiology, (2) Toxicology, and (3) Microbiology. This document contains a general plan that will be used by both NASA Headquarters Program Officers and the field centers to review and plan basic, applied, and operational research and development activities, both intramural and extramural, in this area. The document is divided into sections addressing these three disciplines

Space life sciences strategic plan

Over the last three decades the Life Sciences Program has significantly contributed to NASA's manned and unmanned exploration of space, while acquiring new knowledge in the fields of space biology and medicine. The national and international events which have led to the development and revision of NASA strategy will significantly affect the future of life sciences programs both in scope and pace. This document serves as the basis for synthesizing the options to be pursued during the next decade, based on the decisions, evolution, and guiding principles of the National Space Policy. The strategies detailed in this document are fully supportive of the Life Sciences Advisory Subcommittee's 'A Rationale for the Life Sciences,' and the recent Aerospace Medicine Advisory Committee report entitled 'Strategic Considerations for Support of Humans in Space and Moon/Mars Exploration Missions.' Information contained within this document is intended for internal NASA planning and is subject to policy decisions and direction, and to budgets allocated to NASA's Life Sciences Program

Focal Spot, Fall 1982

https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1032/thumbnail.jp

Technology applications

A summary of NASA Technology Utilization programs for the period of 1 December 1971 through 31 May 1972 is presented. An abbreviated description of the overall Technology Utilization Applications Program is provided as a background for the specific applications examples. Subjects discussed are in the broad headings of: (1) cancer, (2) cardiovascular disease, (2) medical instrumentation, (4) urinary system disorders, (5) rehabilitation medicine, (6) air and water pollution, (7) housing and urban construction, (8) fire safety, (9) law enforcement and criminalistics, (10) transportation, and (11) mine safety

Environmental Implications of the Health Care Service Sector

This report analyzes the environmental effects associated with activities undertaken and influenced by the health care service sector. It is one part of a larger study to better understand the environmental effects of service sector activities and the implications for management strategies. Considerable analysis has documented the service sector's contribution to domestic economic conditions, yet little analysis has been performed on the broad impacts service firms have on environmental quality. For this study the authors developed a framework to examine the nature of service sector industries' influence on environmental quality. Three primary types of influence were identified: direct impacts, upstream impacts, and downstream impacts. In addition, indirect impacts induced by service sector activities include their influence over settlement patterns and indirect influences over other sectors of the economy. In their initial analysis, the authors noted that many functions performed in the service sector also are commonly found in other sectors. The impacts of these activities have been analyzed separately from those unique to the health care sector, as they present different challenges. Health care is one of the largest U.S. industries, employing one in nine workers and costing one in seven dollars generated in the economy. Functions performed in the industry that are common in other sectors include: transportation; laundry; food services; facility cleaning; heating and cooling; and photographic processing. Activities unique to the health care industry include: infectious waste generation and disposal; medical waste incineration; equipment sterilization; dental fillings; ritual mercury usage; x-ray diagnosis; nuclear medicine; pharmaceutical usage and disposal; and drinking water fluoridation. The industry has considerable leverage upstream on its suppliers, which is important to managing risks from the use of goods commonly used in the industry, including: mercury-containing products, polyvinyl chloride plastics, latex gloves, and syringe needles. The authors identified a number of areas for potential environmental management initiatives: controlling emissions from on-site "production" type functions; mercury use; the environmental consequences of infection control measures; pollution prevention through substitution of alternative health care services; and research and data collection.

CONTAINMENT LEVELS IN MEDICAL LABORATORIES

Biological agents are classified by regulation in infectious risk groups numbered from 1 to 4 (group 1: non-infectious agents). Orders set the list of biological agents classified in groups 2, 3 and 4. The regulations also provide for 3 levels of containment for the technical rooms of laboratories corresponding to infectious risk groups 2 to 4. In general, for an analysis laboratory, excluding microbiology activities, a containment level 2 must be provided. In some cases, such as the cultivation of group 3 biological agents, manipulations must be carried out in rooms at containment level 3. The combination of the biohazard and the type of exposure is used to assess the biological risk. The laboratory must then apply containment measures adapted to the identified risk. The regulations provide for three containment levels numbered from 2 to 4, corresponding respectively to infectious risk groups 2 to 4. These containment measures are of an architectural type (presence of an airlock, filtration of the extracted air, etc.) and organizational type (equipment dedicated to the technical room, storage for protective clothing, cleaning of the premises, etc.). The objective of our work is to present the Containment Levels of medical biology laboratories. The work carried out in the biological analysis rooms can involve microorganisms responsible for infections in humans. It is therefore necessary to consider that the biological agents handled belong at least to risk group 2. Biological laboratories must therefore comply with at least level 2 containment. If the risk assessment has shown that group 3 biological agents can be handled, containment level 3 should be used