Biomedical waste - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Biomedical waste in containers, held in accumulation area awaiting treatment. Biomedical waste is potentially infectious. 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 of. Biomedical waste is a type of biowaste. Florida Biomedical Waste. Florida Administrative Code for Biomedical Waste. To view the 2011 Updates. Biomedical waste may be solid or liquid. 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. Waste sharps include potentially contaminated used (and unused discarded) needles, scalpels, lancets and other devices capable of penetrating skin. Biomedical waste is generated from biological and medical sources and activities, such as the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of diseases. Common generators (or producers) of biomedical waste include hospitals, health clinics, nursing homes, medical researchlaboratories, offices of physicians, dentists, and veterinarians, home health care, and funeral homes. In healthcare facilities (i. Biomedical 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. Medical facilities generate waste hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials. While such wastes are normally not infectious, they require proper disposal. Some wastes are considered multihazardous, such as tissue samples preserved in formalin. Risk to human health. The most common danger for humans is the infection which also affects other living organisms in the region. Daily exposure to the waste (landfill) leads to accumulation of harmful substances or microbes in the person's body. A 1. 99. 0 report by the U. S. 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. 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. Further, there are opportunities for the general public to come into contact medical waste, such as needles used illicitly outside healthcare settings, or biomedical waste generated via home health care. Steps in the management of biomedical waste include generation, accumulation, handling, storage, treatment, transport and disposal. Treatment may occur on- site or off- site. On- site treatment of large quantities of biomedical waste usually requires the use of relatively expensive equipment, and is generally only cost effective for very large hospitals and major universities who have the space, labor and budget to operate such equipment. Off- site treatment and disposal involves hiring of a biomedical waste disposal service (also called a truck service) whose employees are trained to collect and haul away biomedical waste in special containers (usually cardboard boxes, or reusable plastic bins) for treatment at a facility designed to handle biomedical waste. Generation and accumulation. Containers of biomedical waste are marked with a biohazard symbol. The container, marking, and labels are often red. Discarded sharps are usually collected in specialized boxes, often called needle boxes. Specialized equipment is required to meet OSHA 2. CFR 1. 91. 0. 1. 45.
These rules may be called the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules. BIO-MEDICAL WASTE (MANAGEMENT AND HANDLING)RULES, 1998.Minimal recommended equipment include a fume hood and primary and secondary waste containers to capture potential overflow. Even beneath the fume hood, containers containing chemical contaminants should remain closed when not in use. An open funnel placed in the mouth of a waste container has been shown to allow significant evaporation of chemicals into the surrounding atmosphere, which is then inhaled by laboratory personnel, and contributes a primary component to the threat of completing the fire triangle. To protect the health and safety of laboratory staff as well as neighboring civilians and the environment, proper waste management equipment, such as the Burkle funnel in Europe and the ECO Funnel in the U. S., should be utilized in any department which deals with chemical waste. It is to be dumped after treatment. Handling. Workers who handle biomedical waste should observe standard precautions. Treatment should render the waste safe for subsequent handling and disposal. There are several treatment methods that can accomplish these goals. Biomedical waste is often incinerated. An efficient incinerator will destroy pathogens and sharps. Source materials are not recognizable in the resulting ash. An autoclave may also be used to treat biomedical waste. An autoclave uses steam and pressure to sterilize the waste or reduce its microbiological load to a level at which it may be safely disposed of. Many healthcare facilities routinely use an autoclave to sterilize medical supplies. If the same autoclave is used to sterilize supplies and treat biomedical waste, administrative controls must be used to prevent the waste operations from contaminating the supplies. Effective administrative controls include operator training, strict procedures, and separate times and space for processing biomedical waste. For liquids and small quantities, a 1. Solutions of sodium hydroxide and other chemical disinfectants may also be used, depending on the waste's characteristics. Other treatment methods include heat, alkaline digesters and the use of microwaves. For autoclaves and microwave systems, a shredder may be used as a final treatment step to render the waste unrecognizable. Regulation and management by country. After the Act expired in 1. States were given the responsibility to regulate and pass laws concerning the disposal of medical waste. All fifty states vary in their regulations from no regulations to very strict. In addition to on- site treatment or pickup by a biomedical waste disposal firm for off- site treatment, a mail- back disposal option exists in the United States. In mail- back biomedical waste disposal, the waste is shipped through the U. S. While currently available in all 5. U. S. On 2. 8 th Mar 2. Biomedical Waste Management Rules 2. Central Govt. Each state's Pollution Control Board or Pollution control Committee will be responsible for implementing the new legislation. If body fluids are present, the material needs to be incinerated or put into an autoclave. Although this is the proper method, most medical facilities fail to follow the regulations. It is often found that biomedical waste is put into the ocean, where it eventually washes up on shore, or in landfills due to improper sorting when in the medical facility. Improper disposal can lead to many diseases in animals as well as humans. For example, animals, such as cows in Pondicherry, India, are consuming the infected waste and eventually, these infections can be transported to humans through eating of the meat. Many studies took place in Gujarat, India regarding the knowledge of workers in facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, or home health. It was found that 2. After extensively looking at the different facilities, many were undeveloped in the area regarding biomedical waste. The rules and regulations in India work with The Bio- medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules from 1. Worldwide, there are specific colored bags, bins and labels that are recommended for each type of waste. For example, syringes, needles and blood- soiled bandages should be all disposed of in a red colored bag or bin, where it will later be incinerated. See also. Infectious and medical waste management. Chelsea, Mich: Lewis Publishers^The public health implications of medical waste: a report to Congress. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Finding the Rx for Managing Medical Wastes, OTA- O- 4. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, September 1. United States Department of Labor. Retrieved 1. 5 May 2. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 1. 5 May 2. Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 2. 5 July 2.
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