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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing
Session: The Health Impacts of Medical Waste Incineration and Alternatives
4124.0: Tuesday, November 07, 2006: 12:30 PM-2:00 PM
Oral
The Health Impacts of Medical Waste Incineration and Alternatives
This session will examine the health impacts of medical waste incineration and alternatives to decrease these health impacts. WHO's and UNICEF's programs to reduce both needlestick and incinerator emissions will be presented. Significant changes in medical waste disposal practices sparked by the recognition that burning medical waste in incinerators produced major sources of dioxins and other hazardous emissions will be addressed. A case study will be discussed that shows the potential public health benefits of such a collaboration, and specific methods that can be implemented to instill the trust necessary to make such a collaboration work.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: Articulate the relationship between plastic needles and incresed incineration; Describe WHO's and UNICEF's programs to reduce both needlestick and incinerator emissions; Recognize the interrelationship between environmental justice and occupational health; Describe an effective case study of collaboration between industry, government and NGOs that protect public health; Articulate community concerns around thermal medical waste treatment technologies.
Moderator(s):Robyn Gilden, RN, MS
12:30 PMPreventing needle sticks and preventing dioxin from needle incineration
Susan Wilburn, RN, MS
12:45 PMTransforming medical waste disposal practices to protect public health: Worker health and safety and the implementation of large scale, off-site steam autoclaves
Patrice Sutton, MPH, Julia Quint, PhD, Janice Prudhomme, DO, MPH, Elizabeth Katz, MPH, CIH, Mary Deems, MPH, Jennifer Flattery, MPH, Robert Harrison, MD, MPH
1:00 PMHow hospitals, government and NGOs can work together: A case study of collaboration on medical waste technology management
Susan Chiang, MPH MPP
1:15 PMConcerns about thermal medical waste treatment technologies
Monica Wilson
See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information.
Organized by:Environment
Endorsed by:Occupational Health and Safety; Socialist Caucus
CE Credits:CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing

The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA