Introduction to Hazardous Material Management

Purpose

Date of Last Review3/16/10

Date of Last Review 10/18/10

Date of Last Review 10/31/11
SME: Infection Control Manager

Controlling hazardous material is part of an ongoing commitment to provide a safe environment for patients, personnel, and visitors.

Acronyms

The table below explains acronyms in this chapter:

Acronym	Meaning	Description
EPA	Environmental Protection Agency	Federal agency
HCA	Hazard Communication Act	State law defining: Requirements for safe use of hazardous material Employee rights under law
MSDS	Material Safety Data Sheet	Information provided by manufactures of hazardous material as required by law
NEO	New Employee Orientation	Required for every employee
TDH	Texas Department of Health	State agency

Emergency assistance

This table lists who to contact when you require emergency assistance:

IF you need assistance...	THEN contact the...
During normal hours	Safety office at 713-741-7880
After normal hours On a weekend On a holiday	UT police at 713-500-4357 (HELP) Result: UT Police request assistance from the on-call Safety officer

Waste reduction

All departments/units use established and approved waste reduction procedures, including the following:

Sanitizing

Disinfecting

Purpose: To reduce the volume of hazardous waste generated

Result: Waste reduction procedures render hazardous waste harmless and allow UTHCPC to dispose of hazardous waste as regular waste.

Safety Officer's responsibilities

This table lists the Safety Officer's responsibilities for controlling hazardous material and hazardous waste:

Responsibility	Description
Define policies and procedures	Review policies and procedures annually as follows: Identification Handling Storage Use Disposal Spills
Train	Personnel who manage and/or regularly come into contact with hazardous material and/or waste
Ensure and monitor	Compliance with applicable laws and regulations
Evaluate and monitor	Program compliance and effectiveness
Issue reports	To the following: Safety Committee Those responsible for other appropriate monitoring activities

Safe handling responsibility

The following share the responsibility for safe handling of hazardous material and waste:

Employees

Individual departments/units

	Safety Officer and Safety Office
	PHP Personnel will call Hazardous waste pick-up, on as needed basis. The telephone number to call is: (936)441-8950

Related standards

The Joint Commission : Surveillance, Prevention, and Control of Infection

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