Papers from a workshop held in New Delhi, Jan. 27 - Feb. 2, 1987.

Prudent Practices in the Laboratory-the book that has served for decades as the standard for chemical laboratory safety practice-now features updates and new topics. This revised edition has an expanded chapter on chemical management and delves into new areas, such as nanotechnology, laboratory security, and emergency planning. Developed by experts from academia and industry, with specialties in such areas as chemical sciences, pollution prevention, and laboratory safety, Prudent Practices in the Laboratory provides guidance on planning procedures for the handling, storage, and disposal of chemicals. The book offers prudent practices designed to promote safety and includes practical information on assessing hazards, managing chemicals, disposing of wastes, and more. Prudent Practices in the Laboratory will continue to serve as the leading source of chemical safety guidelines for people working with laboratory chemicals: research chemists, technicians, safety officers, educators, and students.

This book provides a review and evaluation of existing methods for estimation and quantification of risks associated with chemical exposure. Dealing first with the assessment of probable damage to the human organism, the book discusses the basic mechanisms of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, the validity of long-term whole-animal studies as predictors of human response and the use of epidemiology, statistics and mathematical modelling in developing quantitative risk estimation. The same approach is adopted for non-human biota and ecosystems, including a state-of-the-art assessment of work in single-species tests, multispecies tests and ecotoxicological modelling. Where suitable methods are not available, inadequacies are identified and suggestions made for the improvement and development of more appropriate procedures to fill them.

The field of occupational health and safety constantly changes, especially as it pertains to biomedical research. New infectious hazards are of particular importance at nonhuman-primate facilities. For example, the discovery that B virus can be transmitted via a splash on a mucous membrane raises new concerns that must be addressed, as does the discovery of the Reston strain of Ebola virus in import quarantine facilities in the U.S. The risk of such infectious hazards is best managed through a flexible and comprehensive Occupational Health and Safety Program (OHSP) that can identify and mitigate potential hazards. Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Nonhuman Primates is intended as a reference for vivarium managers, veterinarians, researchers, safety professionals, and others who are involved in developing or implementing an OHSP that deals with nonhuman primates. The book lists the important features of an OHSP and provides the tools necessary for informed decision-making in developing an optimal program that meets all particular institutional needs.

This book is directed specifically to the public health official or epidemiologist who may need to plan or undertake an epidemiological study of populations exposed to chemicals through major accidents or environmental contamination. Realizing the potential contribution of epidemiology to the management of chemical incidents is an important step in creating an effective mulidisciplinary response.

This Document was designed to serve as a tool to assist industrial enterprises, public authorities, and communities near hazardous installations world-wide develop and implement a means to assess the success of their chemical safety activities.

This field manual is an updated edition of the publication 'Protocol for assessment of health facilities responding to emergencies' (1999). It provides a management tool for health professionals evaluating the preparedness of their health facilities for dealing with disasters, and it contains three main sections: a questionnaire presented in a checklist format for capacity assessment; aspects of preparedness relating to structural and non-structural vulnerability, functions and human resources; and preparedness for specific emergencies relating to industrial sectors and contamination, infectious disease outbreaks and biological, chemical and radiological emergencies.