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At least 847 records · Page 47Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Becoming a mercury free facility: a priority to be achieved by the year 2000.

This Professional Development Series document outlines the public health and environmental impacts of mercury. It further explains the health care industry's extraordinary contribution of mercury pollution and outlines simple, cost effective strategies to better manage, minimize and ultimately eliminate the use of mercury and mercury based products in health care settings. Brief case studies of facilities that have been successful in this effort are described. A technical assistance resource guide is also included. Readers can expect to acquire the skills needed to make this important work a manageable task.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1999

[Nature and frequency of the existence of mold fungi in garbage cans for biological waste and the resultant airborne spore pollution].

In organic waste, numerous mold fungi and other microorganisms develop sometimes within a few hours only which decompose the organic material already in the collecting containers generating heat and odor. With regard to the emission of mold fungus spores out of garbage cans for bio-waste and the potential environmental-hygienic danger connected with it, considerable worries have been expressed recently. A wide spectrum of mold fungi can be found in bio-waste in strongly varying concentrations. No noticeable difference could be ascertained between the settlement structure areas and the cities respectively as to the fungus concentration in the bio-waste substrate. A. fumigatus and A. niger can be recommended as leading spores for the behavior of the total concentration of fungi in the bio-waste due to their frequency of detection and their seasonal dynamism. The intensity of the air spore pollution through emission of mold fungus spores correlates closely with the climatic conditions, such as variations of temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation. The airborne release of mold fungus spores out of garbage cans for bio-waste and the formation of a respective exposure connected with it is judged as harmless for healthy persons. Risk patients and persons having a weakened immune system or assumed to have such a one due to an existent basic illness and/or other reasons should avoid any handling of bio-waste as well as any other waste if possible.

Air Microbiology↗
PubMed1999

[Investigation of radiation safety management of nuclear medicine facilities in Japan; contamination of radioactivity in the draining-water system. A Working Group of Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine for the Guidelines of Nuclear Medicine Therapy].

Radiation safety management condition in Japanese nuclear medicine facilities were investigated by the questionnaire method. The first questionnaire was asked in all Japanese 1,401 Nuclear Medicine facilities. Answers from 624 institutes (44.5%) were received and analyzed. The radiation-safety management in nuclear medicine institutes was considered to be very well performed everyday. Opinion for the present legal control of nuclear medicine institutes was that the regulation in Japan was too strict for the clinical use of radionuclides. The current regulation is based on the assumption that 1% of all radioactivity used in nuclear medicine institutes contaminates into the draining-water system. The second questionnaire detailing the contamination of radioactivity in the draining-water system was sent to 128 institutes, and 64 answers were received. Of them, 42 institutes were considered to be enough to evaluate the contamination of radioactivity in the draining-water system. There was no difference between 624 institutes answered to the first questionnaire and 42 institutes, where the radioactivity in the draining-water system was measured, in the distribution of the institute size, draining-water system equipment and the radioactivity measuring method, and these 42 institutes seemed to be representative of Japanese nuclear medicine institutes. Contamination rate of radioactivity into the draining system was calculated by the value of radioactivity in the collecting tank divided by the amount of radionuclides used daily in each institute. The institutes were divided into two categories on the basis of nuclear medicine practice pattern; type A: in-vivo use only and type B: both in-vivo and in-vitro use. The contamination rate in 27 type A institutes did not exceed 0.01%, whereas in 15 type B institutes the contamination rate distributed widely from undetectable to above 1%. These results indicated that the present regulation for the draining-water system, which assumed that 1% of all radioactivity used in nuclear medicine institutes contaminated into draining-water system, should be reconsidered in nuclear medicine facilities where radionuclides are used only in in-vivo studies.

Health Facilities↗
PubMed1999

Preventing and controlling the transmission of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms in the home care setting.

Antibiotic-resistant microorganisms can spread to other home care patients by an infected or colonized patient receiving home care services and the home care staff member unknowingly carrying it to another home care patient's home. Controlling the transmission of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms is the primary responsibility of those providing direct patient care. The ultimate goal for home care is to prevent staff colonization and cross-contamination to other home care patients.

Cross Infection↗