WHAT IS SPILL?
An unintentional or accidental fall, flow or runout of something can be termed
as Spill. In Hospitals, these spills include chemicals, hazardous material,
drug, blood and other bodily fluids.
WHAT ARE THE COMMON
KINDS OF SPILLS IN THE HEALTHCARE FACILITIES?
There are four
common or major kinds of spills such as:
Biological
Spills – Blood and other bodily fluids, culture
of micro-organisms and other infectious materials.
Chemical
Spills – formalin,
xylene and other acid, bases and drugs
Mercury
Spills – B.P Apparatus & thermometer mostly
but mercury compounds are also used in preservatives and reagents.
Cytotoxic
Spills – cytotoxic drugs and medicines
HOW SPILLS
INTERACT WITH HUMAN BODY?
Harmful materials such as bacteria, viruses and other small organisms, fumes
and vapors and inappropriate drug or medicine can enter in to the body by four ways such as:
- 1. Inhalation (breathing)
- 2. Ingestion (swallowing)
- 3. Absorption (through skin)
- 4. Injection
WHAT ARE THE
RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE SPILLS?
- · They may have serious
health consequences for instance; microorganism (bacteria, viruses) may
gradually impact internal organs badly.
- · Mercury beads and its
fumes can disrupt nervous system.
- · Chemicals and their
vapors may cause skin & eye irritation depending upon their properties and
nature.
- · Cytotoxic drugs (Cancerous drugs) are highly toxic to cells that may lead to adverse effects during exposure.
WHAT IS THE
ROLE OF SAFETY COORDINATOR IN THE EVENT OF A SPILL?
Assess nature of spill and
adopt safety measures accordingly:
- ·
Stop the source
of spill
- ·
Place caution
sign or cordon off the area
- ·
Wear appropriate
PPEs from spill kit
- ·
Use appropriate
spill items to tackle spill such as absorbent pad etc.
- ·
Dispose of
contaminated material including PPE in waste bags (Yellow & Red) or sharp
container
- ·
Wash Area or
disinfect area through housekeeping staff
- ·
Wash hands
- ·
Re-stock spill
kit item
WHAT TO DO
IF SAFETY COORDINATOR IS NOT AROUND DURING SPILL?
In this particular scenario, one must stop the source of spill, cordon off the area to avoid exposure and announce code yellow.
WHAT IS
MEANT BY MINOR OR MAJOR SPILLS?
Spills that can be triggered through spill kits and without spill kits are termed as minor spill whereas spills that are unmanageable or cannot be tackled through spill kits are major spills. Hence, code yellow is announced for major spills or whenever concerned safety coordinator is not around.
WHAT TO DO
IN TERMS OF EXPOSURE?
Try to reach nearby emergency facility such as eyewash bottle, eyewash station and emergency shower depending upon the severity of exposure. If problem still persists, visit EAR or employee health clinic as per need.
WHAT IS THE
QUANTITY OF DISINFECTANT (SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE) SHOULD BE USED TO DISINFECT THE
AREA?
In
the guidelines, its mentioned 2gm/liter for sodium hypochlorite for all others
except biological spill that is 100gm/liter.
Remember, the main purpose is to protect yourself and people in the
surrounding from the exposure. It’s the minimum quantity and fluctuation in it
is acceptable because it’s not a dose to be given to the patient.
WHAT IS CODE
YELLOW?
CODE YELLOW refers to major spills that can be radioactive, gas leakage, hazardous material or chemical spills. However, when safety coordinator is not around then code yellow may be announced.
WHEN CODE YELLOW
SHOULD BE ANNOUCED?
In case of spill, one should stop the source of spill, cordon off the area and then inform departmental safety coordinator. He will take rest of the measures.
WHO RESPONDS
WHEN CODE YELLOW IS ANNOUNCED?
Team to respond in case of CODE YELLOW:
- ·
Firefighting team because
chemical may have flammable characteristics
- ·
Engineering & Maintenance Department (EMD) team to stop the flow, to cut off ignition source and
to shut off valve.
- · Housekeeping for final cleaning
WHAT IS
MEANT BY MSDS?
A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is a document that contains information on the potential hazards (health, fire, reactivity and environmental) and how to work safely with the hazardous materials. Hence, it’s mandatory to keep MSDS file near hazardous materials.
WHAT IS THE
USE OF EYEWASH BOTTLE?
Eyewash bottle provides
immediate flushing, consists of distilled water and used to clean, refresh &
soothe eyes when exposed to chemicals and hazardous materials.
