Healthcare Waste Management
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Transcript of Healthcare Waste Management
HEALTH CARE WASTE
MANAGEMENT
OBJECTIVES:1. To provide an overview of the different categories of health
care waste2. To inform healthcare workers of the proper waste segregation,
collection, disposal, and transport of healthcare waste3. To develop awareness of environmental issues relating to
health care waste
General waste Infectious waste Pathological waste Sharps Pharmaceutical waste Genotoxic waste Waste with high content of heavy
metal Pressurized container Radioactive waste
GENERAL WASTE
• Comparable to domestic waste
• Does not pose special handling problems or hazards to human health or to the environment
• Mostly from administrative & housekeeping functions of health care establishments, e.g., office paper, food waste
INFECTIOUS
WASTE• Contains pathogens
(bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi) in sufficient amount
• 10% to 15% of hospital waste
COLLECTION/DISPOSAL• Should be placed in
yellow leakproof container
• Collected by
SHARPS• Needles, syringes scalpels,
saws, blades, broken glass, infusion sets, knives, nails, & other items that can cause a cut or punctured wounds
• Considered as highly hazardous HCW
COLLECTION / DISPOSAL• Sharps should be collected at
source of use in puncture-proof containers (metal or high-density plastic) with fitted covers.
• Container made of dense cardboard may be a substitute.
PHARMACEUTIC
WASTE
Expired, unused, spilt&contaminated pharmaceutical products, drugs, vaccines & sera that are no longer required & need to be disposed of appropriately
COLLECTION /DISPOSAL
Small amounts of chemical or large
quantities of obsolete or expired
pharmaceuticals stored in hospital
wards should be returned to the
pharmacy for disposal.
GENOTOXIC WASTE
• Cytostatic drugs, vomitus, urine or feces from patients treated with cytostatic drugs, chemicals & radioactive materials
• Highly hazardous & may have mutagenic, teratogenic or carcinogenic properties
COLLECTION / DISPOSAL
• Cytotoxic waste mostly produced in major hospitals or research facilities should be collected in strong, leak-proof containers labeled “cytotoxic waste.”
WASTE WITH HIGH
CONTENT OF
HEAVY METAL
Batteries, broken thermometers,
blood pressure gauges
COLLECTION / DISPOSAL
• Waste with high content of heavy
metals (e.g., cadmium or mercury)
should be collected separately.
• Large quantities of chemical waste
should be packed in chemical-
resistant container and sent to
specialized treatment facilities.
PRESSURIZED CONTAINERS
Gas cylinders, gas cartridges, aerosol cans
COLLECTION/DISPOSAL
Aerosol containers may
be collected with general
HCW once they are
completely empty.
Aerosol containers
should not be burnt or
incinerated.
•All government hospitals, clinics,
laboratories and research offices shall
incorporate satisfactory segregation,
treatment, collection and disposal
system.
•All infectious and hazardous hospital
wastes shall be treated before storage,
collection and disposal.
•All hospitals and other related
institutions shall inform their staff
and personnel about the proper waste
segregation (color-coding) and storage,
collection and disposal of hospital
waste.
Color Coding Scheme Waste Categories
Black Non-infectious dry waste
Green Non-infectious wet waste
Yellow Infectious and pathological waste
Yellow with Black band Chemical and heavy metal wastes
Orange Radioactive waste
Red Sharps and pressured containers
•Appropriate containers or bag holder
should be placed in all locations where
particular categories of waste may be
generated.
•Staff should never attempt to correct
errors of segregation by removing
items from a bag after disposal or by
placing one bag inside another bag of
different color.
•If general & hazardous wastes are
accidentally mixed, it should be
classified as hazardous HCW.
•Waste should be collected daily (or as frequently as required) & transported to the designated central storage site.•No bags should be removed unless they are labeled with their point of production & contents.•Bags or containers should be replaced immediately with new ones of the same type.
PURPOSE:To change the biological &
chemical characteristic of the waste to
minimize its potential to cause harm
•Prohibits the incineration of medical
wastes
•Promotes the use of state of the art,
environmentally sound & safe non-
burn technologies for handling,
treatment, thermal destruction,
utilization & disposal of sorted
unrecycled biomedical & hazardous
waste.
Help control nosocomial disease, complementing the protection effect of proper hand washing
Reduce community exposure to multi-drug resistant bacteria
Dramatically reduce HIV/AIDS sepsis and hepatitis transmission from dirty needles & other improperly cleaned/ disposed medical items
Control zoonoses (disease passed to
humans through insects, birds, rats
& other animals)
Cut cycles of infection
Easily and cost-effectively address
health care worker safety issues,
including reducing the risk of
needlestick injuries
Prevent illegal repackaging & resale
of contaminated needles
Avoid negative long-term health
effects, e.g., cancer from the
environmental release of toxic
substances such as dioxin, mercury
& others