ChemDAQ Continues Work to Update AAMI Recommendations

On May 24th and 25th, representatives from Chemdaq attended the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation's (AAMI) committee meetings for the Chemical Sterilants Hospital Practices and Steam Sterilization Hospital Practices working groups to contribute to the revisions of ST58 and ST79, respectively. Seeing as these recommendations are only updated every 5 years, there was much to be discussed at the meetings. Understanding the serious health effects of chemical sterilants, and as a leader in the field of continuous gas monitoring, we are seeking to introduce consistency into AAMI's recommendations on how such sterilants are to be monitored. We feel that continuous gas monitoring of substances such as Hydrogen Peroxide, Ozone, and Peracetic Acid is the only way to effectively meet OSHA regulations given today's technology and seek to have those recommendations established by AAMI. Unfortunately, the meeting was not long enough to reach all of our points, and discussion will continue via teleconference in just a matter of weeks. Assuming the other members of the committees see these issues our way, revised versions of ST58 and ST79 will be voted on this coming November with our comments included. We'll keep you updated on our progress.

In the meantime, below I have posted an article writted by our own Dr. Richard Warburton concerning the misconceptions people have regarding today's chemical sterilants. It was published in May 2008 in Infection Control Today. Hopefully this article will provide further justification for why toxic gases should be continuously monitored in the workplace.

http://http://www.chemdaq.com/docs/ICT_ChemDAQ_May08_PDF.pdf