Medical Environment Update—OSHA horror stories highlight safety faux pas

By: Medical Environment Update October 13th, 2009

Healthcare workers share their tales of extreme but true safety miscues that will make even a veteran safety officer cringe and how they converted these situations into training opportunities in the October issue of Medical Environment Update.

Here is an excerpt from that article and a look at what else is covered in October issue.

Mercury rising

Bruce E. Cunha, RN, MS, COHN-S, manager of employee health and safety at the Marshfield (WI) Clinic, remembers a time in 1998, before the facility had completely removed mercury manometers from the system, when a 17-year-old patient caused more damage than he could have guessed.

Cunha says the patient was waiting for a provider in an exam room and began playing with the blood pressure cuff, inflating it and squeezing it to see how high he could get the mercury to rise. He quickly decided he could get the mercury to go much higher if he inflated the cuff and jumped on it. He was right.

“What he did not know is that there is an air vent at the top of the manometer,” Cunha says. “The jump had the expected results but also created enough pressure that the mercury column turned into a fountain and sprayed all over the room.”

Cunha had to call a hazardous waste cleanup crew, dressed in full protective suits and a breathing apparatuses, to come in and clean the room. However, because the mercury sprayed all over the room, everything from the exam table, chairs, and countertops had mercury in the seams and edges. The total damage cost more than $4,000.

The OSHA horror story article also covers a PPE-challenged physician’s unique colonoscopy procedures, a blood drawing accident in a bathtub, a catch-22 fire extinguisher nightmare, and how to create a training room full of horrors.

The Medical Environment Update October issue also includes:

• A report on frequent and most expensive non-bloodborne pathogens violations in physician practices
• More on respirators for flu protection
• Quick self-inspection checklist on the hazard communication standard
• Choosing sides on soap
• Ask the expert Q&As on the FDA Emergency Use Act and fit testing; multiple-site practices and OSHA manuals; who can conduct postexposure evaluations
• A quiz to test your understanding of OSHA standards and government regulatory guidelines applying to healthcare facilities covered in this issue

« Time to re-check your vaccine storage and handling procedures | Home | Lawsuits filed against NY, FDA regarding H1N1 vaccines »

Medical Environment Update



Medical Environment Update is an eight-page monthly newsletter designed to help busy healthcare professionals who don't have time to look through regulatory journals for compliance requirements and information.

MEU has written 21 posts.

• Categories

  • Ask the Expert—Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Ask the expert—General OSHA
  • Ask the Expert—Hazard Communication
  • Bloodborne Pathogens
  • Emergency Action Plans
  • Featured
  • First Aid
  • General Safety and Health
  • Hazardous Waste
  • Infection Control
  • Lab Safety
  • Needlesticks & Sharps Injuries
  • Notes from the field
  • OSHA – Citations & Fines
  • OSHA – General
  • Pandemic Influenza
  • Popular
  • Uncategorized
  • Waste Management
  • Weekly Poll Questions

• Archives

  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008

• Feeds

  • Subscribe to RSS Feed
  • Subscribe to Comments