Medical Waste Management
Definitions
any kind of waste that contains infectious material
Factors of Infection waste
Presence of pathogen of sufficient Virulence
Dose
Resistance of Host
Categories of Infectious waste
Isolation waste
Culture and stocks of infectious agents
Ex: Specimen from medical and biological laboratories
Human blood and blood products
Waste blood, serum, plasma and blood products
Pathological waste
tissue, organ, body parts
Miscellaneous Contaminated waste
Waste from surgery and autopsy
Miscellaneous laboratory waste
Dialysis Unit Waste
Component of Infectious waste management plan
management of infection waste
separation between infectious and non infectious
Pakaging, storage, treatment,disposal
Contingency measure for emergency situations
Staff training
Segregation of Medical waste
Use of clearly marked container for infectious waste
don't combine medical waste with hazardous chemical or radioactive waste
Separate Sharp Waste from medical waste
Separate pathology waste from medical waste
Separate chemotherapy waste from medical waste
Packaging infectious waste
selection suitable packaging materials
Plastic bag for solid and semi solid
bottles, flask or tanks for liquids
use packaging suitable for storage & transport
Place liquid in cap or tightly bottle
don't compact infectious waste before treatmetn
Handling sharps precautions
avoid recapping needle
plan of safe handling and disposal before using it
dispose the use of needle in appropriate sharps disposal container
Participate in training related to infection prevention
get hepatitis B vaccination
Packaging of sharps
Container are rigid puncture-resistant container
must be red in label, have biohazard label, located close to immediate areas where sharps are used
containers of contaminated sharps will be closed immediatly
secondary containers must be closable and prevent leakage during handling, storage, transport or shipping
Storage
Temperature and storage duration are important
Warmer temperature cause high rates of microbial growth and putrefaction results in odor problem
locating the storage area near the treatment site
minimizing storage time
proper packing of containment waste
limited access to storage area
Transportation
avoid mechanical loading devices that may ruptured packages waste
placement of all infectious waste into rigid or semi rigid container before transport off site
use appropriate hazards symbol
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On-site treatment
methods
thermal inactivation
gas/vapor sterilization
incineration
chemical disinfection
autoclaving
sterilization by irridation
effective medical waste treatment ( heating under high pressure)
steam sterilization involve the use of saturated stream within a pressure vessel with high temperature to kill infectious agents
plastic bags should be placed in a rigid container before steam treatment to prevent spillage
bag should be opened ,caps and stopper should be loosen before place in the stream sterilizer
infectious waste that contained non infectious hazards should not steam sterilized
person involving in steam sterilizing should be trained in handling techniques to minimizes exposure to hazards from these waste
regulated emission from medical waste incineration
sulfur dioxide
Hydrogen Chloride
Dioxin
Nitrogen oxide
carbon monoxide
Cadmium
Particulate matter
Lead
Mercury
involves treatment of waste with high temperature to eliminate infectious agents
after treatment, the contents can be discharged into sanitary sewer
use gas/vapor chemicals as sterilizing agents
ethylene oxide is commonly use but must be handle with caution since it is suspected human carcinogens
prefer for treating liquid infectious waste
advantages
electricity requirements are nominal
steam is not require
no heat or chemicals remain the treated waste
disadvantages
capital cost are high
highly trained personnel are required
disposal of radiation source may pose probles
plan should include when employees may expose to bloodborne pathogen
Post exposure evaluation and follow-up
record keeping
hepatitis B vaccination
procedure for evaluating the exposure incident
implementation of method of exposure control
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Determination of employee exposure
if a person is exposed, they should:
wash the exposed area thoroughly with soap and running water
if blood is splashed in the eye, flush the affected area with running water for at least 15 minutes
report the incident
refer to health care professional