Environmental Services

It is illegal in some parts of the country to dump used OPA or glutaraldehyde down the drain without neutralizing it first. It is a popular misconception that used OPA or glutaraldehyde is no longer dangerous (biocidal) after it has passed its reuse date or it has failed a MRC test. Not only can used disinfectants adversely affect the sewer system, but they can be dangerous to the healthcare worker as well.

As the chief scientific officer for Xenex Healthcare Services, I see firsthand the selection process for room disinfection systems at many facilities. As with any hospital purchasing process, multiple individuals are involved. The biggest difficulty is that the people involved may all be asking different questions. Some individuals may get very interested in the different technologies while others will only care about the economics of the purchase. I believe that by taking the group through a question forming exercise, the selection process can be streamlined. Of course, before getting to the question, it is best to understand the problem.

Since person-to-person spread does not occur with Legionella pneumonia, it remains one of the very few healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) linked exclusively to an environmental source in this case, water. Unfortunately, the advantage of focusing prevention efforts on this defined reservoir is offset by the ubiquity of water in healthcare settings and the varied ways in which water systems may interact with the provision of patient care.