Disinfection and Waste Disposal

Question 1

What waste is yellow?

Answer 1

Hazardous

Question 2

What waste is orange?

Answer 2

Hazardous

Question 3

What waste is purple?

Answer 3

Hazardous medicinal waste

Question 4

What waste is blue?

Answer 4

Non-hazardous medicinal waste

Question 5

What waste is yellow/black striped?

Answer 5

Offensive

Question 6

What waste is black?

Answer 6

Domestic

Question 7

What is the difference between yellow and purple hazardous waste?

Answer 7

Yellow=incinerated
Purple= treated via autoclaving/disinfection before disposal

Question 8

What waste is put into purple sharps bin?

Answer 8

Cytotoxic/ cytostatic

Question 9

What is the procedure for damaged pharmaceuticals?

Answer 9

Sand/sawdust/cat litter to soak it up, swept into container and the content must be estimated and recorded. Container disposed of into pharmaceutical waste (blue).

Question 10

Why should solid and liquid medicines be kept separate?

Answer 10

They could start a fire

Question 11

How do you dispose of empty medical containers?

Answer 11

collected in pharmaceutical waste bin

Question 12

Which containers are disposed of into hazardous waste?

Answer 12

containers of cytotoxic/ cytostatic medicine

Question 13

Where are sharps disposed into?

Answer 13

Hazardous waste

Question 14

What procedure is followed with controlled drugs?

Answer 14

They must be denatured with a witness present and the record must be entered onto CD register

Question 15

Who needs to witness the disposal of schedule 2 and 3 drugs?

Answer 15

Veterinary medicine directorate inspector and assessor of RCVS practice standards scheme, a vet surgeon independent of the practice or police officer

Question 16

Why is a T28 exemption needed?

Answer 16

Denaturing CDs is processing waste so they need an exemption from waste processing licence.

Question 17

Where do you dispose cytotoxic/cytostatic waste?

Answer 17

Hazardous-purple

Question 18

Where would a needle which delivered water-based vaccine be disposed into?

Answer 18

yellow-topped sharps bin

Question 19

Why should spray bottles be avoided?

Answer 19

Risk of airborne irritant increases, poor air quality

Question 20

What is the best technique when using disinfectant tubs?

Answer 20

One tub for disinfectant and one for rinsing the cloth

Question 21

What does sterilisation mean?

Answer 21

destruction of all forms of microbial life

Question 22

What does disinfection mean?

Answer 22

removal of microbes that may result in infection

Question 23

What is the difference between standard vs high-level disinfectant?

Answer 23

High level could reach sterilisation if appropriate exposure times are used.

Question 24

What is antisepsis?

Answer 24

Removal of pathogenic microorganisms from the skin or mucous membranes

Question 25

What is asepsis

Answer 25

Absence of pathogenic microbes on living tissue

Question 26

What is cleaning?

Answer 26

Physical removal of surface contaminants

Question 27

Where might chlorine compounds be used?

Answer 27

Used in household bleach but not as antiseptics as burns skin

Question 28

When are phenols (carbolic acid) used?

Answer 28

Used for environmental disinfection. They don’t work well against spores and viruses and are not adversely affected by organic matter.