|
Mercury Reduction Best Management Practices for Mercury-containing Products in the Hospital |
| "Best management practices" for
mercury are the procedures that have been found by experience to effectively
prevent the release of mercury into the environment. By implementing best
management practices now, the hospital can help to avoid the need for
increased regulations in the future. For most mercury-containing products in
the hospital, the preferred best management practice is to replace the item
with a mercury-free product. However, it may not be possible to replace all
of the hospital's mercury products at once and, in a few cases, there may
not be a substitute that is considered to be reliable and cost-effective.
For these products, best management practices are effective procedures for
handling and either recycling or disposing of the mercury-containing
products. Recycling is recommended. Disposal should be the last resort. Mercury-containing products can be found almost anywhere in the hospital. They range from medical instruments and clinical laboratory chemicals to electrical equipment and cleaning solutions. This section is organized by product:
For each product the chapter describes:
In all cases, when a mercury-containing product is still in use, the hospital's hazardous waste management coordinator will have the ultimate responsibility for its recycling or disposal. All personnel within the hospital who handle mercury-containing products must cooperate with the hazardous waste management coordinator to develop appropriate procedures for the handling of items to be discarded and their transportation to the designated hazardous waste collection point. |
|
| |
|