VHS English Version Product Number: 1037FEVHS
DVD English Version Product Number: 1037FEDVD
VHS Spanish Version Product Number: 1037FSVHS
DVD Spanish Version Product Number: 1037FSDVD
Length of Video(in Minutes): 13
Publisher: Digital-2000, Inc.
Description: Excellent program to train employees in requirements of a medical program for HAZWOPER, medical examinations, record keeping, and necessary information to meet the training requirements or annual refresher training or initial HAZWOPER training requirements.
HAZWOPER: MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE
Workers handling hazardous waste can experience high levels of stress. Theirdaily tasks may expose them to toxic chemicals, safety hazards, biologicalhazards, and radiation. They may develop heat stress while wearing protective equipment,or working under temperature extreme, or face life threatening emergencies,such as explosions and fires. Therefore a medical program is essential to assess and monitor a worker'shealth and fitness, both prior to employment and during the coarse of work. Toprovide emergency and other treatment as needed, and to keep accurate recordsfor future reference. In addition OSHA recommends a medical evaluation foremployees required to wear a respirator. Certain OSHA standards include specific medical requirements.Information from a site medical program may also be used to conduct future epidemiologicalstudies, to adjudicate claims, to provide evidence in a litigation, and toreport worker's medical conditions to federal, state, and local agencies asrequired by law. The program presents general guidelines for designating amedical program for personnel at hazardous waste sites.
It includes information and sample protocols for pre-employment screening and periodicmedical examinations; guidelines for emergency and non-emergency treatment, andrecommendations for program record keeping and review. In addition it suppliesa table of some common chemical toxicants found in hazardous waste sites with recommendedmedical monitoring procedures.
Developing a program: a medical program should bedeveloped for each site based on its specific needs, location, and potentialexposures of employees at the site. The program should be designed by an experiencedoccupational health consultant in conjunction with the site safety officer. Thedirector of site medical programs should be a physician who's board certifiedin occupational medicine, or a medical doctor who's had extensive managing occupationalhealth services. A director and or examining physician with such qualificationsmay be difficult to find, due to the shortage of doctors trained inoccupational medicine in remote geographic areas where many hazardous wastesites are located. If an occupational health physician is not available thesite medical program may be managed and relevant examinations performed by alocal physician with assistance from an occupational medical consultant. Thesefunctions may also be performed by a qualified registered nurse, preferably an occupationalhealth nurse. Under the direction of a suitably qualified physician who has responsibilityfor the program. All medical test analysis should be performed by a laboratorythat has demonstrated satisfactory performance in an established innerlaboratory testing program. The clinical or diagnostic laboratories to whichsamples are sent should meet either minimal requirements and the clinical laboratoriesimprovement act of 1967 or the conditions for coverage under Medicare. Theseprograms are administered by the health care financing administration (HCFA), US department of health and human services (DHHS).
