Posted By Paul Craythorne Bryn, Don't know the name of the company that supplies the UV lights but I have seen them in action. They have been installed in the railway stations in Wigan. Perhaps if you telephoned the station they may be able to tell you where to source them. There is also some useful guidance on needlestick injuries that I recall from my days in Environmental Health. Try your Local Authority Environmental Health Department Health& Safety section. Hope this helps. Regards, Paul

Posted By Bryn Maidment Thanks for the responses. I was starting to think I was hallucinating about a company providing UV/blue lights but they are for real.I'll carry on with my hash pipe!! Tony, thanks for the idea of the clear bags! Just goes to show that you can get too close to the problem and miss the obvious.

Posted By Peter J Harvey Bryn, This is an area that I have been involved in for several months now and still find I turn a new corner each day and find more information. I have seen needle bins in several toilet areas, however the tendancy is to mount them out of normal view (bad PR) and consequently they are not used. However I have seen in the last week small sharps bins in individual cubicles which I felt was a good idea. You might also like to consider how you maintain these areas, maintenance staff must be made aware of the risks. It is common for addicts to use areas like the top of doors, toilet roll holders, behind toilets or even inside cisterns to hide needles, be very careful if the toilets become blocked. The real problem, in my opinion is the abundance of clean needle schemes that give the things out with wanting an old one back in exchange. The following documents are good background reading: Unison Health and Safety - information sheet needlestick injuries. Hazards 2000 - The Sharp End I would be most interested to know about these lights and "where they are used". Peter Harvey

Posted By Bryn Maidment Thanks again for the response. Just to clarify a little - I didn't cover all aspects of how we are dealing with the problem, in order to keep the post to a reasonable length. The cleaners in the public loos are trained to deal with the obvious flotsam & jetsam of drug abuse as well as the hidden problems - blocked toilets (twice before), blocked drains (twice before), behind cisterns etc. Their training covers PPE - kevlar/leather gloves, litterpickers (ok, not strictly ppe); personal hygiene; OH stuff - hep B jabs, triple therapy (if required); violence and aggression - disturbing crackheads ........and a number of other cleaning related issues. I also have numerous pieces of guidance on sharps/needlesticks etc. Something I omitted from the first post was that I actually had the details of the company who provides the UV lights...but lost them much to my embarassment. Via this thread, e.mails and phone calls I've got a good idea of some other ideas to try out but a big thank you again for responding. I'll post the details of the UV company (if successful in finding them) next week but if anyone does come up with it in the meantime please let me know. Regards Bryn