Understanding The Types of Clinical Waste

If your organization generates medical waste, it is critical that you have a good understanding of the different types of clinical waste. About 85% of waste generated by the healthcare industry is unregulated. That means that 15% is regulated and requires proper handling, labeling, storage, transport and disposal. Mishandling regulated waste leaves you open to liability, regulator fines and can spread disease.

Medical Waste Categories

There are some variations in the definition of medical waste among regulatory agencies. Most federal and state agencies differentiate between common medical waste and those wastes with the potential for causing infection and that require special precautions.

Medical waste is generally categorized as:

regulated medical waste
infectious waste
biohazard waste

In some cases, state guidelines vary in their definition of what is “infectious.” While some states adopt definitions found in federal guidelines such as the EPA, OSHA, and DOT, others do not. It’s important to research your state’s guidelines to determine your clinical waste management requirements.

State Regulated Clinical Waste

The following are commonly regulated by states:

Pathological waste – Tissues, organs, body parts, and body fluids removed during surgery and autopsy.

Human blood and blood products – Waste blood, serum, plasma and blood products.

Cultures and stocks of infectious agents (microbiological waste) – Specimens from medical and pathology laboratories. Includes culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix. Also includes discarded live and attenuated vaccines.

Contaminated sharps – Contaminated hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpel blades, Pasteur pipettes, and broken glass.

Isolation waste – From hospitalized patients quarantined to protect others from communicable disease.

Contaminated animal carcasses, body parts and bedding – From animals intentionally exposed to pathogens in research or testing.

Pathology and Anatomy Wastes

All human anatomical wastes and all wastes that are human tissues, organs, or body parts removed by trauma, during surgery, autopsy, studies, or another hospital procedure, which is intended for disposal qualifies as pathological or anatomical waste. Both types are wastes derived from the human body, but pathological wastes are unique because they are typically samples from a laboratory setting used to identify a disease. Anatomical wastes, in contrast, are usually human organs, tissue and body parts, and may require special treatment under some state regulations.

Bulk Human Blood, Blood Products, Body Fluids or Other Infectious Material

This category includes bulk waste human blood, human blood components or products derived from blood including serum, plasma and other blood components, or bulk human body fluids as defined by OSHA. This includes samples of these fluids taken in hematology labs, as well as drainage from surgery, and urine or feces when visibly contaminated by blood.

Microbiological Waste

Microbiological waste includes cultures and stocks of infectious agents, and associated microorganisms. This can include discarded cultures, culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate and mix cultures, stocks, specimens, live and attenuated vaccines if they are likely to contain organisms pathogenic humans. These types of waste usually originates from clinical or research laboratory procedures involving communicable infectious agents.

Sharps

Items that can introduce infectious agent through the skin or that can easily penetrate the skin qualify as sharps. Sharps may have been used or are intended to be used in human or animal patient care or in medical, research, or industrial laboratories. They can include hypodermic needles, syringes, Pasteur pipettes, capillary tubes, broken glass, razor blades, and scalpel blades.

Sharps require special handling and packaging under both OSHA and DOT. Regulations vary from state to state so be sure to refer to your state’s guidelines for the storage and transportation sharps.

Clinical Waste Handling With Secure Med

Contact Secure Med for a free consultation. We can help you develop a waste management plan that will meet your regulatory obligations.

Proper Medical Waste Disposal is the Gift of Security

January 11, 2019/in Medical Waste, OSHA, Waste Disposal /by Secure Med

Proper Medical Waste Disposal is the Gift of Security

With all the distractions and stress that typically accompanies the holiday season, it may be likely for some of your employees and co-workers to accidentally forget to appropriately follow medical waste safety protocols. It’s moments like these when the value of a professional medical waste disposal company comes to light.

“Ho, ho, ho…oh no”

According to OSHA regulations, (1910.1030(b)), Regulated Waste means “liquid or semi-liquid blood or other potentially infectious materials; contaminated items that would release blood or other potentially infectious materials in a liquid or semi-liquid state if compressed.” It further states that “items that are caked with dried blood or other potentially infectious materials are capable of releasing these materials during handling, contaminated sharps, and microbiological wastes containing blood or other potentially infectious materials.” Furthermore, OSHA says “the blood or body fluid can spill, splash, splatter or drip to get into an existing portal of entry” which in turn has the potential to infect.

The results of poor management systems for these kinds of waste that you must avoid can include:

Sharps-inflicted injuries
Toxic exposure to pharmaceutical substances
Air pollution
Thermal, chemical or radiation burns.

Regarding sharps, an infected needle stick injury has a 30-percent risk of the stick containing the Hepatitis-B virus, a 1.8-percent risk of Hepatitis-C, and a 0.3-percent risk of the stick being infected with HIV. Thus, best practice for medical waste disposal indicates that the red bags and boxes that serve as sharps containers should always be replaced with each service. This prevents sanitation concerns because infectious pathogens are harbored in the containers. Also, it avoids repackaging sharps and contaminated materials prior to transport.

‘Tis the Safe Medical Waste Disposal Season

Everyone is aware that illnesses and healthcare needs certainly don’t take that time off. Surgeries, blood work, and other procedures that create medical waste continue as usual in facilities. This includes:

Hospitals
Labs and research hubs
Mortuary and autopsy centers
Blood banks and collection services
Nursing homes and assisted living locations.

By partnering with a secure medical waste disposal company that provides you with a certificate of destruction, you receive the peace of mind knowing that you’ll have a personalized waste-control strategy tailored specifically to your facility’s needs. Waste managers can quickly identify appropriate sizes and quantities of waste containers, collection boxes, and sharps boxes for each room. This method is employed over a “one-size-fits-most” approach.

A Gift that Keeps on Giving

Proper waste disposal reduces the risks of contamination to your staff, patients, community, public health and the environment. This includes the unintended release of chemical or biological hazards or drug resistant microorganisms. However, that does not cover all the positives this procedure provides. When you partner with a professional medical waste disposal company, you can avoid regulatory fines and publicly demonstrate your commitment to safety and environmental protection. This is an ongoing benefit to your company.

As we head into the new year, learn more about what you need to do to ensure you have a proper medical waste disposal agreement in place at your facility. Connect with SecureMed in the Greater Birmingham and Huntsville areas to get a free quote for complete, compliant, and reliable medical waste disposal. For more information, reach out to us on our website.