Managing Hazardous Materials
The rules that apply to managing
hazardous materials inside your facility are mainly concerned
with protecting employees
who need to work with the materials, and with protecting
anyone inside the facility (employees, patients, and visitors)
who could be affected by the materials. The general
framework for the rules is largely established by the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the federal
agency concerned with worker safety.
Note that once materials have been
used, they may fall into the "hazardous waste" category. As
hazardous wastes, the materials will also need to comply
with another set of rules (RCRA), established by a different
federal agency, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). See the HERC Hazardous Materials --
Overview and Hazardous
Waste Determination pages for more information on hazardous
wastes.
This section contains information on the OSHA Hazard Communication
Standard (HCS) and key hazardous materials
topics that can help achieve compliance and reduce waste
generation and operating costs. Complying with the HCS
is both a legal requirement and good common sense. Good
communications, together with good workplace practices
should help to reduce the incidence of illness and injuries
from chemical sources. Compliance does not have
to translate to higher operating costs. By implementing good operating practices,
health care facilities can improve safety, reduce the volume
of hazardous materials present, reduce the volume of hazardous
waste generated, and lower operating costs.
