asked the Minister for Labour the protection and safety procedures which are available to people working in laboratories including all the national blood transfusion services dealing with the AIDS virus; the safety requirements, if any, which are in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Safety Procedures in Laboratories.
3.
The Safety in Industry Acts, 1955 and 1980 together with the regulations made under them apply to workers employed in laboratories attached to factory premises as defined in those Acts. In addition the European Communities (Major Accident Hazards of Certain Industrial Activities) Regulations, 1986, commonly known as the "Seveso" Directive Regulations, apply to most pharmaceutical and allied chemical industries including laboratories attached to those industries.
Laboratories, other than those referred to — such as hospital laboratories, separate research laboratories and laboratories in universities, schools and colleges — are outside the scope of safety and health legislation which is currently in force.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989, which I intend to bring into operation shortly, will, however, extend legislative safety and health protection to all places of work, including laboratories. The new legislation will set down general duties of care in relation to all employers, employees and the self-employed. It will also extend protection to non-employees who may be affected by work activities.
I understand that the Department of Health have issued comprehensive recommendations relating to the protection of all medical and paramedical personnel who may be exposed to the AIDS virus in the course of their work. These recommendations relate to the safe use of instrumentation, protective clothing, handling and disposal of contaminated items and other matters, including the strict observance of the rules of good microbiological techniques.
Although the Blood Transfusion Service Board laboratories are outside the remit of the Safety in Industry Acts, I have been advised that the board have in operation a detailed set of standard operational procedures on laboratory safety for their laboratory staff. These procedures comply with the standards recommended by the World Health Organisation, The Council of Europe and the standards used by other blood transfusion services throughout the world. In addition, each individual section of the Blood Transfusion Service Board's laboratories has its own safety procedures applying to the specific work carried out.
Could the Minister give the procedures used at hospital laboratories for the protection against AIDS and, further, can he say when he hopes to bring in the new Act?
The new Act, as the Deputy knows, went to the Seanad since the Easter session began. I have now written to the Federated Union of Employers and the Congress of Trade Unions for their nominees. I would realistically hope that meetings would start from September. Between now and that time all the preparatory work will be undertaken.
In relation to procedures, the Department of Health advise that they have issued the following guidelines in relation to the protection of medical and pharmaceutical personnel from the AIDS virus. First, special care should be exercised in the use of sharp instruments and needles, to avoid self-innoculation; gloves or other protective clothing must be worn whenever contact with potentially contaminated material is unavoidable; all instruments, objects, surfaces, possibly contaminated with infectious material should be decontaminated using effective disinfectant solutions; disposal of contaminated items of waste should be made safe by auto-cleaning before final disposal; materials such as blood tissues and secretions should be labelled as infectious; all material likely to contain these agents should be packaged in a way in which they can be transported safely; for the handling and processing of specimens, strict observance of the rules of good microbiological techniques are mandatory. These are extremely detailed and are enforced in all hospital laboratories.
Can the Minister assure me that the guidelines he has mentioned are being observed in the laboratories?
I am advised by the Department of Health that these are rigorously enforced. In the new Act, I presume, codes of practice which we will discuss during the Bill or regulations will become the regulations, but in the meantime these guidelines are strictly enforced.