health

Biohazardous Waste Types and How to Dispose of It

by Joseph

Healthcare providers must prioritise the difficulty of disposing of medical waste. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hazardous material makes about 15% of medical waste. This substance could be radioactive, poisonous, or contagious. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules and epidemiology are two examples of the authorities that control the disposal of biohazardous waste. Of course, rules from the municipal, state, and federal levels apply.

Biohazardous Waste: What Is It?

Any medical waste that contains infectious material is considered biohazardous. It also contains any potentially contagious materials, such as hospital and dental office garbage. Labs, medical research facilities, and veterinary hospitals are also featured. Medical waste is also produced by private practise medical offices. Blood and other pollutants are present in biohazardous waste.

Blood and bodily fluids are among the pollutants in biohazardous waste. Biohazardous medical waste is defined by the 1988 Medical Waste Tracking Act as waste produced during human or animal medical research and testing. Additionally, it is a side effect of human or animal diagnosis, vaccination, or therapy.

Bandages, Petri dishes, and glassware are a few examples of this. Gloves and abandoned sharp objects like scalpels and needles serve as further instances. It also consists of organic material that was left on tissues and swabs.

Medical Waste Recycling Business - Hazardous Medical Waste Disposal Equipment Manufacturer in India - Fornnax

Biohazardous Solid Waste

Any non-sharp substance that comes in touch with human or animal specimens is considered solid biohazard waste. Personal protective equipment (PPE), Petri dishes, towels, linens, and pipettes are some of these supplies.

Sharps (such as scalpels and needles) are handled separately from other goods, particularly any that are brittle. Blood vials and other glass objects, for instance, can be broken and become sharp.

Biohazardous Liquid Waste

Body fluids or blood that may contain an infectious pathogen are referred to as liquid medical waste. The liquid can be disposed of as solid trash if it is less than 25 millilitres in volume. Any quantity greater than 25 millilitres needs to be disposed of in a separate way.

Biohazardous Sharp Waste

“Sharp” refers to biohazardous medical waste. Any medical equipment that has the potential to spread an infection and is sharp enough to pierce skin qualifies. A plastic bag can be punctured if it can pierce the skin. Sharps include items like needles, microscope slides, scalpels, and broken glass vials. Any of these may contain biohazardous material.

Disease-Producing Biohazardous Waste

Any removed organs, tissues, or bodily parts from humans or animals are considered pathological waste. Infectious agents could be present in any of these.

This includes waste products from a biopsy process. Anatomical components taken out during autopsies or operations are another example. At UTPR, we provide comprehensive handling of biohazardous waste:

  • Environmental guidance
  • Processing of documents
  • Provision of permitted containers
  • Transport and pick-up service
  • Careful handling and disposal in line with the law.