The Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHA) published two new guidebooks that have been posted at the OSHA website. Best Practices for the Safe Use of Glutaraldehyde in Health Care contains information for employers and employees regarding glutaraldehyde, a toxic chemical used to clean heat-sensitive medical, surgical, and dental equipment. Glutaraldehyde has been used for decades as a cold sterilant to disinfect devices such as endoscopes, bronchoscopes, and dialysis equipment. It is also used as a tissue fixative in histology and pathology labs, and as a hardener in x-ray developing. The recommendations in this handbook can be used in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, surgical centers, outpatient medical/dental clinics, nursing homes, and other residential healthcare facilities. Other important information in this handbook includes the following:

• Respiratory and dermatologic conditions due to exposure to glutaraldehyde, such as occupational asthma, rhinitis, and contact dermatitis, can be mild to severe.

• Although OSHA does not currently mandate a permissible exposure limit (PEL), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a recommended exposure limit (REL) of 0.2 ppm, established in 1989.

• Effective exposure controls such as good engineering controls (e.g. proper ventilation and/or use of automated disinfection), work practices, facility design considerations, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) can minimize worker exposure.

• Two alternatives to using glutaraldehyde for high level disinfection include: 1) the use of a drop in liquid chemical disinfectant such as Cidex OPA^® and Sterilox^® and 2) new enclosed disinfectant equipment technologies such as Steris^® and Sterrad^®.

• General recommendations regarding training/education, selection and use of PPE, exposure monitoring, and spill/clean up procedures as well as disposal practices are also discussed in the handbook.

The OSHA handbook entitled Preventing Mold-Related Problems in the Indoor Workplace offers recommendations on how to evaluate, prevent, control, and address other problems due to mold in the buildings. This guidebook was culled from a review of the documents submitted to OSHA when it was considering a proposed rule on indoor air quality in 1994, which was subsequently withdrawn in December 2001, and newer published scientific literature about mold exposures. It contains a brief overview on molds and a discussion of building-related illnesses (BRI) plus a comparison with sick-building syndrome. Preventive maintenance/measures building evaluation including sampling strategies, mold control, action control, and allergic infections, and remediation are discussed. There is also a section on what employees need to do about mold in the workplace and a list of OSHA programs and resources.

Related Link:
Best Practices for the Safe Use of Glutaraldehyde in Health Care
Preventing Mold-Related Problems in the Indoor Workplace 

Content from Occupational Health Research http://www.systoc.com/newscomments/news/May2006/Handbk.asp