hospital waste management Flashcards
what is biomedical waste?
waste generated during :
-diagnosis
-treatment
-immunization of humans/animals
-research activities
what are the main classification of hospital waste
1- non hazardous
2- hazardous waste
3- potentially toxic
what are the divisions of non hazardous waste including examples?
1-biodegradable: food items
2- non-biodegradable: foil, plastic
what are the divisions of hazardous waste including examples?
1- laboratory waste
:cultures, samples, glassware
2- instruments used
:endoscope, syringe, needle
3- infected animals for research
4- pathological waste
:organs, placenta, limbs ,etc
5- contaminated swabs/dressings
what are the divisions of potentially toxic waste including examples?
1- radioactive
: could be gas, liquid, solid
2- chemical waste
3- pharmaceutical waste
:expired products
: contaminated products
: spilled products
:excess stock
what are the properties of chemical waste?
1- corrosive
2- inflammable
3- toxic
4- genotoxic: toxic to genes
how is biodegradable waste disposed?
1- using biodegradation technologies
2- composing the items, collecting them and putting into green containers, where they will be put into a bio culture pit
how is non-biodegradable waste disposed?
disposed in municipal bags
what are laboratory waste material including examples?
1- sample collection waste
: syringe, needle, cotton swab
2- biochemistry waste
: test tubes, glass bottles
3- hematology waste
: hemoglobin HB tubes
:lancet
:ESR[ erythrocytes sedimentation rate device]
5- bacteriology
: syringe and needle
what are the categories of person in risk of infection
1- patients
2- medical and paramedical staff
3- personal involved in waste disposal
4- person involved in cleaning the hospital
what are the health hazards associated with poor hospital waste management?
1- injuries and contamination by hospital items’
: causes HIV- needle infected with HIV
hepatitis virus: in blood, semen, body fluids
2- nosocomial infection
: infection originating from hospitals
3- infecting others outside hospital
what are the routes of transmission of infections from potentially infectious waste?
1 non-intact skin
2- mucosa membrane
3- ingestion
4- inhalation of dust particles containing germs
what are general precautions to take?
1- workers vaccinated against hepatitis B virus
2- wear heavy duty gloves
3- do not leave sharps on counter top
4- no recapping of needles
what are the primary steps to an effective healthcare waste management system?
1- evaluate scenario of the hospital
2-have job charts for waste management
3- discuss all cost associated with hospital waste management team
4-develope waste management policies
5- train the trainees and employers
6-evaluate technical procedures, cost and polices yearly
what are the steps in waste management?
1- waste survey
2- waste minimization
3- waste segregation
4-safe storage
5- waste handling and treatment
6- waste transportation
7-waste disposal
what is the purpose of waste survey?
1- to evaluate the types of waste
2- to evaluate the quantity of waste
describe waste segregation
1- occurs before transportation and handling
2- waste segregated into bags
3- each bag is labelled
4- each bag has necessary information as per recommended rules
what happens if infectious waste is mixed with non-infectious waste?
the whole waste is infectious due to contamination
what are the functions of segregation?
1- reduction in total treatment cost
2-recued impacts of waste on the community
3-reduces chances of infecting healthcare workers
describe waste handling
1-bags are lined with polythene bags
2-person involved should be trained
3- person involved should wear protective gear
what are the divisons of treatment?
1-disinfection
2- needles, syringes+sharps
3-liquid waste
what is used for disinfection including its percentage if present
dettol-5%
alcohol-70%
savlon
sodium hypochlorite-5%
formaldehyde gas
what is Dettol used to disinfect?
instruments
what is alcohol used to disinfect?
skin
what is savlon used to disinfect?
clinical thermometers
what is formaldehyde gas used to disinfect?
rooms
what is sodium hypochlorite used to disinfect?
overall decontamination including penicillin bulbs
what happens to needles and syringe after use?
needles placed in white bag and syringe in blue bags and both sent to pharmacy stores
what happens to liquid waste?
1- disinfected
2- reagent is added to neutralize it
describe transportation of waste
waste transported from facility all the way to its final destination
describe waste disposal
do not burn any waste in hospitals
in what bags are sharps such as needles placed in?
white bags
in what bags are non-hazardous biodegradable waste placed in?
green bags
in what bags are solid infectious waste placed in?
red bags
what are placed in black bags?
non-infectious waste
what are placed in yellow bags?
anatomical/pathological waste
what are placed in blue bags?
infected plastics
what are examples of infected plastics?
Plastic IV
catheter
cannulas
