Pollution Prevention Training. Unit 2 Process Guides Section 8 Medical

Transcription

1 P2 Pollution Prevention Training Unit 2 Process Guides Section 8 Medical

2 Process Group Shops Biomedical Equipment Repair Center Clinical Laboratory Dental Clinic Housekeeping Pathology Laboratory Radiation Oncology Occupational Therapy X-ray Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 2

3 The flow diagram that follows treats your entire process area as a unit and illustrates: input materials typically used hazardous and non-hazardous wastes generated from their use Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 3

4 AETC MEDICAL Maintenance/Housekeeping X-Ray Dental Clinical Lab Pathology Lab INPUTS Paints * Hydraulic Fluids Oil Batteries Greases Adhesives * Sealants * Solvents * /Cleaners * Rags Ethylene Oxide * Flux Solder * Alcohol * Lubricants * PROCESS Fixer Developer Film Lead Blocks Rags Amalgam Formalin * Adhesive * Alcohol * Solvents * /Cleaners * Sterile Solution Acetone * Lead Foil Stain Line Chemicals * Alcohol * Acetone * Sterile Solution Acid Xylene * Stromatolyser-C Formaldehyde */Formalin * Pharmaceuticals Stain Line Chemicals * Clear-Rite Formalin * Alcohol * Xylene * Glacial Acetic Acid OUTPUTS Recycle/ Recover HW Purged Hydraulic Fluid Purged Oil Spent Batteries Spent Batteries Waste Mercury (broken thermometer) Spent Silver Spent Film Used Rags Waste Lead Spent Amalgam Spent Sterile Solution Waste Formalin Waste Lead Foil Waste Acetone Waste Alcohol Waste Xylene Spent Sterile Solution Waste Stromatolyser-C Waste Formaldehyde /Formalin Expired Pharmaceuticals Waste Stain Line Chemicals Waste Formalin Waste Alcohol Waste Clear-Rite Waste Xylene Waste Glacial Acetic Acid Empty Aerosols Empty Containers Empty Containers Empty Containers Empty Containers MSW Empty Containers Used Rags Water Spent Cleaners Spent Fixer/ Developer Solution Residual Nonhazardous Materials Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 4

5 To clarify the Medical process, several subprocesses are listed: Maintenance/housekeeping X-ray Dental Clinical lab Pathology lab Check your manual for greater detail on how to apply pollution prevention Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 5

6 Pollution Prevention Solutions Let s look at how to examine your activities to: identify pollution prevention solutions achieve the Air Force goals promote a healthy work environment Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 6

7 INPUTS: Applying the Source Reduction Principle What input materials do you use to do your job? Which of those input materials are: hazardous to your health? hazardous to the environment? result in a waste? Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 7

8 INPUTS: Applying the Source Reduction Principle Are some of your input materials more hazardous than others? Which hazardous input material do you use most? Which hazardous input material generates the most hazardous waste? Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 8

9 CAUTION HAZARDOUS MATERIAL Who can help you determine whether the products you use are hazardous? HMP is responsible for purchasing all hazardous input materials If you use hazardous input materials in your shop, they must be supplied through HMP BE is responsible for approving the use of all hazardous input materials BE looks at the health effects Environmental Flight is responsible for managing environmental compliance They can help you identify suitable substitute input materials for your shop that are non-hazardous Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 9

10 To protect your health and our environment, you want to eliminate or substitute input materials that contain EPA 17, EPCRA, and ODS goal area chemicals Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 10

11 EPA 17 and EPCRA chemicals are health hazards, and they tend to result in hazardous waste or air pollution These chemicals are in widespread use ODSs also are strictly regulated and controlled because they are believed to harm the environment Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 11

12 EPA 17s The EPA 17 chemicals make up a large part of the EPCRA chemicals and air emissions normally found on Base Targeting these chemicals for your reduction efforts is the key to meeting the Air Force pollution prevention goal Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 12

13 Source Reduction Options for Your Process Group Using biodegradable cleaners instead of solvents to clean glassware and other equipment To reduce expired pharmaceutical waste, ensuring purchasing of pharmaceuticals is done as needed instead of on a schedule. Using UV light or microwaves for sterilization Using vinyl cutouts for signs Using residue-free flux to reduce or eliminate flux residue solvents Using water-based paints Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 13

14 Summary of Categories, Products, and Affected Goal Areas for AETC Medical Category Product Goal Area Constituent Goal Area Affected Formaldehyde Formalin Cups Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde Formaldehyde EPCRA EPCRA Creosol Stain Kits Medical Stain Kit Isopropyl Alcohol EPCRA Adhesives Adhesive, Weldwood Contact Cement Adhesive, Rubber Insulating Adhesive, Dental Impression Adhesive, B5 Fixative 1,4-Dioxane Toluene Methylene Chloride Toluene Mercury Compounds EPCRA EPA 17, EPCRA EPA 17, EPCRA EPA 17, EPCRA EPA 17, EPCRA Lubricants Lubricant, Silicone Compound, Yellow 77 Lubricant Lubricant, Lubricating 1,1,1-Trichloroethane Freon 113 CFC-22 ODS, EPA 17, EPCRA ODS, EPCRA ODS, EPCRA Compound Solvents/Cleaners Toluene, Technical Uni-Solve Adhesive Remover Disinfectant, General Purpose Polish, Metal Harvey Vapo Sterile Toluene 1, 4 Dioxane 2-Phenyl Phenol Chlorophenols Isopropyl Alcohol 1,1,1-Trichoroethane Methyl Ethyl Ketone EPA 17, EPCRA EPCRA EPCRA EPCRA EPCRA ODS, EPA 17, EPCRA EPA 17, EPCRA Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 14

15 Things to Remember You can substitute or eliminate input materials within the boundaries set by your OIs If the OIs will not allow the change, you can initiate the OI change process and have your idea reviewed by the appropriate people For questions on OIs, contact the office of primary responsibility (OPR) listed on the OI Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 15

16 Let s look at the pie charts in Section 10 Medical contributes: 1% to EPA 17 chemical usage 1% to ODSs chemical usage 5% to EPCRA chemical usage Even though your process group does not contribute a large percentage to the totals, it only takes a few small percentages to add up to a large one Your activities will have a major impact on whether your Base meets, or even exceeds, the Air Force pollution prevention goals Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 16

17 Some Final Areas to Consider under Inputs Store your input materials correctly Improper storage or failure to use products before their expiration dates can produce health hazards, fire hazards, or unnecessary hazardous waste Input materials kept on hand past their expiration dates can account for as much as 15% of a Base s hazardous waste stream An operational HMP can reduce or eliminate problems with material expiration It s your responsibility to avoid storing excess or expired products Exp. 8/94 Exp. 6/92 This end up Exp. 2/96 Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 17

18 PROCESS: Applying the Process Modification Principle Shop Biomedical Equipment Repair Pathology Laboratory Dental Clinic Housekeeping Clinical Laboratory Occupational Therapy Radiation Oncology X-Ray Process Inspects, repairs, and provides periodic maintenance of medical and dental equipment Processes, examines, and prepares tissues and tissue and cell samples for pathological analysis Provides dental services for military members, dependents, and civilian personnel on the main Base Collects and cleans hospital linens; cleans/disinfects floors, sinks, and toilets; and changes light bulbs and fluorescent tubes Examines all body fluids for parasites, performs white blood cell and complete blood cell counts, and prepares/analyzes microfilarial blood smears Provides rehabilitation services for patients Provides radiation treatment to cancer patients and performs X-rays for diagnosis and to determine the effectiveness of treatment Provides X-rays for military members, dependents, and civilian personnel on the main Base Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 18

19 Remember: Tasks are the most basic unit of activity that can be used to identify and communicate potential hazards or impacts on the environment Tasks are the building blocks for describing processes Examples include: developing X-rays preparing amalgam for a filling staining a slide cleaning a sink changing a light bulb Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 19

20 PROCESS: Applying the Process Modification Principle (continued) To evaluate your processes, start by evaluating basic tasks Ask yourself: Do I need to do this task? Is there a better way to do this? Can this task be changed to save time, prevent pollution, reduce health risks? Can I modify this process to eliminate or reduce the waste generated? Think about what you do, why you do it, and how you do it Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 20

21 PROCESS: Applying the Process Modification Principle (continued) Some of the solutions used or considered by your process group are: Wiping on a chemical instead of spraying it Using a rag more than once before throwing it away Using smaller amounts of required chemicals Using a centrally controlled, bulk dispensing system for housekeeping products such as glass cleaner, disinfectant, and bathroom cleaner Schedule Using a closed-loop electrolytic recovery unit to recycle fixer and extend its useful life Using a three-stage silver recovery unit to increase recovery efficiency Using an ion exchange system to regenerate developer and extend its useful life Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 21

22 As you consider your proposed modification, be sure you are truly eliminating pollution and not just transferring the pollution to a different medium Burning your trash would reduce the volume of waste going to the landfill, but open burning also can create an air pollution problem Consider all the effects your change could have Everything you do affects the process, your health, and your environment Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 22

23 OUTPUTS: Applying the Recycling, Treatment, and Disposal Principles At this point, you have: considered all the source reduction possibilities already substituted non-hazardous materials to replace hazardous ones investigated process modification to reduce or eliminate your waste If you still have waste: consider the pollution prevention principle of recycling Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 23

24 OUTPUTS: Applying the Recycling, Treatment, and Disposal Principles (continued) Recycling and recovery extend the life of your materials Recycling is the process by which materials are transformed into new products Examples of materials that can be recycled include: Spent silver Glass Cardboard boxes Spent amalgam Plastic Paper Batteries Scrap metal Fluorescent lightbulbs Remember: Recycling markets change all the time; what is not recyclable today, may be recyclable tomorrow Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 24

25 OUTPUTS: Applying the Recycling, Treatment, and Disposal Principles (continued) Recycling and recovery (continued) Recovery is the process of obtaining materials or energy resources from solid waste Examples of materials that can be recovered include: Purged oil Purged hydraulic fluid Silver Used, unsaturated rags Solvent Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 25

26 OUTPUTS: Applying the Recycling, Treatment, and Disposal Principles (continued) If the waste cannot be recycled or recovered: pollution prevention has not been achieved the waste you have created must be disposed of in an environmentally safe manner However, there are ways to treat your wastes to make them less hazardous and/or reduce their volume Treatment is not pollution prevention, but it can reduce the cost of waste disposal Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 26

27 OUTPUTS: Applying the Recycling, Treatment, and Disposal Principles (continued) Medical Top 5 Waste Streams The process flow diagram provides a list of the hazardous and non-hazardous wastes produced by your process group. It also identifies the inputs responsible for generating air emissions. The top five waste streams for your process group are: Spent Batteries Spent Spray Cans Spent Silver Waste Laboratory Chemical Solutions Expired Pharmaceuticals/Chemicals Your goal should be to find ways to eliminate or reduce these waste streams. Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 27

28 OUTPUTS: Applying the Recycling, Treatment, and Disposal Principles (continued) Check the pie charts in Section 10 and see how much hazardous waste this process group is responsible for generating within the Command Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 28

29 Some Final Areas to Consider under Outputs Keep hazardous waste away from non-hazardous waste Remember the mixture rule: Anything that comes in contact with a hazardous waste becomes a hazardous waste itself Waste containers that are kept outside must be water-tight If rain gets in your waste container, it becomes hazardous waste and increases the volume you have to dispose of, increasing costs Mismanagement of waste can create health risks, increase pollution, and significantly raise waste disposal cost Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 29

30 Most Applicable Regulations Requirements of RCRA, EPCRA, PPA, and CAA all will significantly affect the activities of your process group Your process group accounts for approximately 4% of the hazardous waste generated by AETC RCRA s requirements for handling and storage are cumbersome, so it is to your advantage to eliminate as much waste as possible PPA applies to all users of hazardous input materials and generators of pollution You need to apply pollution prevention principles to reduce hazardous input material usage and pollution generation Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 30

31 Most Applicable Regulations Requirements of RCRA, EPCRA, PPA, and CAA (continued) Approximately 5% of the EPCRA chemicals purchased by the Command are for your process group EPCRA chemicals are predominantly contained in solvents, cleaners, lubricants, and sealants, and these products should be a main targets for your source reduction efforts CAA is of some concern since your area is responsible for approximately 1% of the VOCs in the Command You may be required to modify some of your processes or maintain certain records Unit 2 - Section 8 - Slide No. 31