Term Paper on Medical Waste Disposal | Laboratory | Hematology

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Term Paper on Medial Waste Disposal

All laboratory workers must wash their hands with an appropriate disinfectant after handling infectious materials and removing gloves and before leaving the laboratory area.

Incidents that may result in exposure to infectious materials must be immediately evaluated and treated by staff properly trained and equipped to work with infectious material. In the event of physical contamination due to a splash or spill, the area must be immediately decontaminated with an appropriate disinfectant.

If the contamination is to a mucous membrane such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc., the area must be rinsed with running water for at least 15 minutes. All such incidents must be reported to the laboratory supervisor.

Equipment and Labware:

Laboratory equipment and working areas should be decontaminated after each use with infectious materials, as well as, after spills, splashes, or other potential contamination.

1. Spills involving infectious materials must be contained, decontaminated, and cleaned up with an appropriate disinfectant by staff properly trained and equipped to work with infectious material.

2. Equipment must be decontaminated before repair, maintenance, or removal from the laboratory.

3. All consumable solid supplies must be autoclaved prior to disposal.

4. All reusable supplies (i.e. glassware) must be decontaminated with an appropriate disinfectant prior to re-use.

5. Significant volumes of contaminated liquids must be autoclaved or treated with an appropriate disinfectant.

Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated biological including:

i. Laboratory waste, biological production wastes, discarded live and attenuated vaccines, culture dishes, and related device.

ii. Liquid human and animal waste, including blood and blood products and body fluids, but not including urine or materials stained with blood or body fluids.

iii. Pathological waste.

iv. Contaminated wastes from animals that have been exposed to agents infectious to humans, these being primarily research animals. Shall be placed in biohazard bags and decontaminated by autoclaving.

Aspirating Contaminated Liquids Safely:

One method to protect a house vacuum system during aspiration of infectious fluids. The left suction flask (A) is used to collect the contaminated fluids into a suitable decontamination solution; the right flask serves as a fluid overflow collection vessel. An in­line HEPA filter (C) is used to protect the vacuum system (D) from aerosolized microorganisms

Laboratory Areas:

Laboratory workers are required to decontaminate all working areas with an appropriate disinfectant after the use of bio-hazardous materials.

Disposal:

Autoclaved waste may be disposed in the regular trash once it is transferred to a black bag marked with the words, “Decontaminated Medical Waste”. Double or triple bagging may be required to avoid rupture or puncture of the bags. Decontaminated liquids not containing any other hazardous substances may be flushed down the drain.

Sharps Disposal:

Sharps require special handling, storage, and disposal procedures to protect laboratory users and waste handlers. Sharps are objects that can be reasonably anticipated to puncture and penetrate the skin.

Sharps include, but are not limited to, the following:

i. Needles

ii. Scalpels

iii. Razor and blades

iv. Syringes

v. Microscope slides and coverslips

vi. Broken glass

vii. Capillary tubes

viii. Pasteur pipettes and pipette tips

All biohazard us sharps must be placed in a sharps container prior to disposal. A sharps container must be of rigid plastic with close fitting top, leak-proof, puncture-resistant, break resistant and properly labeled with a universal biohazard symbol.

Waste and contaminated material include syringes, knives, blades, and thermometer.

This waste may be:

1. Household non-infected.

2. Infected waste

In household non-infected waste need no decontamination then. While infected waste require proper management. Place in puncture proof container, containing 1% of bleach, prepared every morning and then finally dispose it off.