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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Susan Wilburn, RN, MS, Occupational and Environmental Health, American Nurses Association, 8515 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 21910, 800 274-4164, susan.wilburn@att.net

The (necessary) shift to the use of disposable only syringes for UNICEF funded immunization campaigns accelerated the push to incinerate. This is because incineration creates a way to make the plastic disappear and not be thrown out back behind the clinic like it is in many, many places. Related to this, the WHO Safe Injection Global Network has goals of safe to the patient, the worker and the environment success that the US PEPFAR project (a million per country per year for 5 years in 11 african countries) would not buy diposal technology!! Finally, this presentaiton will explain why the risk of needlesticks has been reduced by the supply of parafin soaked sharps containers (also UNICEF).

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 an UNICEF's programs to reduce both needlestick and incinerator emissions.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No