Management īiomedical waste must be properly managed and disposed of to protect the environment, general public and workers, especially healthcare and sanitation workers who are at risk of exposure to biomedical waste as an occupational hazard. Further, there are opportunities for the general public to come into contact with medical waste, such as needles used illicitly outside healthcare settings, or biomedical waste generated via home health care. They found, however, that biomedical waste from those settings may pose an injury and exposure risks via occupational contact with medical waste for doctors, nurses, and janitorial, laundry and refuse workers. Daily exposure to the wastes (landfills) leads to accumulation of harmful substances or microbes in the person's body.Ī 1990 report by the United States Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded that the general public is not likely to be adversely affected by biomedical waste generated in the traditional healthcare setting. The most common danger for humans is the infection which also affects other living organisms in the region. Some wastes are considered multihazardous, such as tissue samples preserved in formalin.Įffects on humans Sharpsmart Reusable Sharps Containerĭisposal of this waste is an environmental concern, as many medical wastes are classified as infectious or biohazardous and could potentially lead to the spread of infectious disease. While such wastes are normally not infectious, they require proper disposal. Medical facilities generate waste hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials. hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, veterinary hospitals and clinical laboratories), waste with these characteristics may alternatively be called medical or clinical waste.īiomedical waste is distinct from normal trash or general waste, and differs from other types of hazardous waste, such as chemical, radioactive, universal or industrial waste.
Common generators (or producers) of biomedical waste include hospitals, health clinics, nursing homes, emergency medical services, medical research laboratories, offices of physicians, dentists, veterinarians, home health care and morgues or funeral homes.
Waste sharps include potentially contaminated used (and unused discarded) needles, scalpels, lancets and other devices capable of penetrating skin.īiomedical waste is generated from biological and medical sources and activities, such as the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of diseases. Examples of infectious waste include discarded blood, sharps, unwanted microbiological cultures and stocks, identifiable body parts (including those as a result of amputation), other human or animal tissue, used bandages and dressings, discarded gloves, other medical supplies that may have been in contact with blood and body fluids, and laboratory waste that exhibits the characteristics described above. Biomedical waste is a type of biowaste.īiomedical waste may be solid or liquid. As detailed below, discarded sharps are considered biomedical waste whether they are contaminated or not, due to the possibility of being contaminated with blood and their propensity to cause injury when not properly contained and disposed. packaging, unused bandages, infusion kits etc.), as well research laboratory waste containing biomolecules or organisms that are mainly restricted from environmental release.
It may also include waste associated with the generation of biomedical waste that visually appears to be of medical or laboratory origin (e.g. Biomedical waste or hospital waste is any kind of waste containing infectious (or potentially infectious) materials generated during the treatment of humans or animals as well as during research involving biologics.
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