title: The uses of mercury equipment and products in Irish healthcare.
abstract: Mercury is a naturally occurring metal, one of the most toxic metals within the food chain and has a number of uses in the Irish health care sector. This paper reports on a mercury survey in Ireland with the purpose to present a picture of mercury use in health settings. The findings show 50% of health settings free of all mercury medical equipment. Mercury spills occur within 30% of health settings, with no training provided in handling mercury equipment, in the management of mercury spills and only 10% of health services have mercury clean up kits. With 50% of mercury waste disposed inappropriately, a number of recommendations are advanced for reducing the amount of mercury in the health settings alongside awareness and education for health professionals.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Health, School of Nursing, Dublin City University, Dublin. michael.mckeon@dcu.ie
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McKeon
mesh_terms: D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal; D017669:Mercury Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D017744:Medical Waste Disposal; D017669:Mercury Compounds