In order to comply with the new USP <800> ruling for hazardous waste handling, it’s critical to maintain quality control standards when it comes to the environment you’re working in.  With the deadline of the new USP <800> ruling for hazardous waste compliance drawing near, you and your staff should prepare your facility accordingly.

Environmental wipe sampling for HD surface residue should be performed routinely every 6 months on:

• Interior of the containment primary engineering controls (C-PEC)
• Pass-through chambers
• Staging or work areas
• Areas near C-PEC

Before each use, wipe sampling kits should be verified that the methods and reagents recover a specific percentage of known marker drugs from various surface types found in the areas.

If contamination is found it’s imperative to follow proper protocol which includes:

• Identifying the substance
• Documenting the cause
• Containing the contamination
• Deactivating, decontaminating and cleaning
• Reevaluating practices and procedures
• Improving engineering controls

Following these guidelines will help you to remain compliant with USP <800> guidelines and will help keep you and your staff safe.

For more information on how to remain compliant, check out our series of blogs on the USP General Chapter <800> on our website.  You can also download our free handbook.