Definition Of Hazardous Medical Waste

Of special concern are sharp wastes such as needles blades glass pipetts and other wastes that can cause injury during handling.

Definition of hazardous medical waste. Hazardous medical waste that needs to be carefully disposed of by incineration. According to the fred hutchinson cancer research center biohazardous waste is any waste containing infectious materials or potentially infectious substances such as blood. Medical waste is waste generated in labs or clinical settings that is not contaminated but could appear hazardous to outsiders. Refuse similar to household waste can be put through the same collection recycling and processing procedure as the community s municipal waste.

Items include clinical waste such as used syringes and needles used swabs plasters and bandages. Hazardous waste occupational health any unwanted waste product that poses a hazard or potential hazard to human health which may be generated by a manufacturing process eg radioactive gas cylinders chemicals pesticides acids and liquid or by a health care facility including regulated biohazardous waste. According to the occupational safety and health administration osha the definition is. The remaining 15 is considered hazardous material that may be infectious chemical or radioactive.

You can t throw these flammable old cans of paint thinner in with your regular trash they need to be treated as hazardous waste we are in compliance with all. Of the total amount of waste generated by health care activities about 85 is general non hazardous waste comparable to domestic waste. The other 10 to 25 is called hazardous medical waste or special waste. Contaminated biohazard waste must be collected by a licensed biohazardous waste hauler.

The definition of biohazardous waste. Regulated medical waste rmw also known as biohazardous waste or infectious medical waste is in simple terms any waste that may be contaminated by blood body fluids or other potentially infectious materials. Non contaminated waste can be disposed of as medical waste. Hazardous waste occupational health any unwanted waste product that poses a hazard or potential hazard to human health which may be generated by a manufacturing process eg radioactive gas cylinders chemicals pesticides acids and liquid or by a health care facility including regulated biohazardous waste.

2 1 description of medical waste the term medical waste covers all wastes produced in health care or diagnostic activities. The most practical approach to medical waste management is to identify wastes that represent a sufficient potential risk of causing infection during handling and disposal and for which some precautions likely are prudent. 2 health care facility medical wastes targeted for handling and disposal precautions include microbiology laboratory waste. Hazardous waste definition any industrial by product or discarded commercial product that is potentially harmful to the environment or people and other living organisms because it is ignitable corrosive reactive and or toxic.

Waste and by products cover a diverse range of materials as the following list illustrates.