Reopening Public Facilities After a Biological Attack A Decision Making Framework (2005) / Chapter Skim
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3 Policy Precedents in Decontamination
3 Policy Precedents in Decontamination
Pages 42-55
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From page 42... ...
The range of policy precedents m decontamination reviewed here provides lessons relevamt to each dimension: Routme microbial decontamination of water amd food supplies · Biosafety practices in laboratories amd envirommental infection control m hospitals . Decontamination procedures amd safety programs for biological weapons research and testing facilities · Cleanup of hazardous-waste sites · Remediation of radioactive waste within the nuclear weapons complex Although not related to biological hazards, the remediahon of waste sites under the Superfund program and of radioactive waste within the nuclear weapons complex are instructive m the special considerations that arise in the context of affected individuals who face involumtary exposures to unfamiliar hazards.
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From page 43... ...
. Shortly thereafter, the Surface Water Treatment Rule mandated that all water purveyors that used surface water introduce treatment sufficient to provide adequate control of pathogens.
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From page 44... ...
Safety procedures used in performing necessary tasks, along with laboratones' physical containment features, provide the framework in which people can work in biologically contaminated environments. The development and implementation of laboratory safety guidelines form the foundation for biological safety in any laboratory that uses microbiological organisms that can cause infectious diseases (DHHS, 1999)
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From page 45... ...
In contrast, public buildings, such as airports, are not routinely staffed by people who would be familiar with infectious agents and disease transmission. Nor are the owners or operators of public facilities necessarily familiar with microbiological, epidemiological, or larger public health principles DECONTAMINATION OF U.S.
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From page 46... ...
The program eventually evolved into the scientific discipline now known as biological safety or biosafety. It identified procedures to ensure safety in every component of work with pathogenic agents, including tasks that involved toxins, genetic manipulation, and production of agents and vaccines.
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Apart from administrative and engineering controls to protect against exposure, from inception, the Biological Warfare Laboratones established a comprehensive medical surveillance and treatment program that encompassed prophylactic vaccination; complete medical surveillance for any illness, either suspect or frank; and complete treatment for known or suspected illness. Before any employee could seek medical assistance from a private physician, he or she had to obtain clearance from post physicians.
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From page 48... ...
The passage of SARA caused EPA to review other envirommental programs and develop cleanup guidelines concordant with goals for public health established in other programs (Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements) , to weigh the qualitative attributes of the potential remedies m the decisionmaking process (permamence and innovation)
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From page 49... ...
I he selection of appropriate cleanup technologies and the ultimate evaluation of cleanup performance remain somewhat of an art rather than a science Restoring sites to pristine or background levels or requiring the use of best available technology is probably not practical or economical based on a rational cost, benefit analysis 'An ideal remedial cleanup should provide complete and total protection of human health and the environment from the remediated site contamination However, complete protection is neither technically feasible nor affordable There will always be some level of nsk remaining at a remediated site (Wentz, t989) decision making.
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From page 50... ...
have hundreds of individual waste sites within their boundaries that require remediation. Cleanup challenges facing DOE include the sheer magnitude of remediation projects—DOE cleanup constitutes 20% of the world's envirommental remediahon market.
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The question of who exactly should perform risk assessments for hazardous-waste sites within the weapons complex generated significant controversy (Henry et al., 1997; NRC, 1994)
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From page 52... ...
The history of radioactive-waste remediation within the nuclear weapons complex underscores the importance of open and inclusive decision making: Government secrecy, evoked in the name of national secunty, greatly diminished public confidence in official declarations about environmental health and safety. Finally, biological safety policies and practices to protect people in hospitals and laboratories places that present a greater chance of exposure to pathogens incorporate decontamination and sterilization as part of comprehensive safety systems that include medical surveillance to identify inadvertent exposures and resulting illnesses.
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From page 53... ...
Those who provide the technical information should be independent experts who are free of conflicts of interest, so that they can give the highest pnonty to protecting public health. Stakeholder involvement in nsk assessment and management provides valuable retunes: local knowledge that can contribute to a more robust definition of the danger, greater public confidence in scientific tools that support public policy, and more widespread acceptance of the legitimacy of the results.
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From page 54... ...
Jmsen, 2004. Fme-tmmmg food safety objectives and nsk assessment.
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From page 55... ...
2003. Guidelines for envimmmental mfection control health care facilities.
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