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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Medical waste disposal. Medical Waste Committee (WT-3). Technical Council Air & Waste Management Association.

Medical (biomedical) wastes pose numerous potential health and safety hazards. In addition to their infectious and toxic characteristics, the highly variable and inconsistent nature of medical waste streams has increased public concern about storage, treatment, transportation, and ultimate disposal. In recent years, techniques have been developed to reduce human exposure to the toxic and infectious components of medical wastes. The most commonly used techniques include internal segregation, containment, and incineration. Other common techniques include grinding, shredding, and disinfection, e.g., autoclaving and chemical treatment followed by landfilling. Of all the available technologies for medical waste treatment and disposal, incineration has been found to be the most effective method overall for destroying infectious and toxic material, volume reduction, and weight reduction in the medical waste stream. Incineration destroys the broadest variety of medical waste constituents and can recover energy from the medical waste stream. Incineration also is an appropriate alternative to burial of human pathological remains.

Humans↗
PubMed1991

Sorting out medical waste.

Medical waste is part of the larger issue of solid waste disposal facing America today. Its management often elicits deep fears and concerns among the public. The reality is that medical waste poses few health risks and many hospitals may be using more caution than actually necessary to protect the public. For a variety of reasons, however, waste disposal is presenting hospital managers with an unprecedented challenge.

Environmental Exposure↗
PubMed2000

[Proper disposal(management) of medical wastes--management of medical waste at University Hospital attached to School of Medicine, Nagasaki University].

University hospitals, not only provide medical care but also perform education and research activities. The waste at university hospital differs from waste at another medical institutions. Because there are various kinds of waste containing toxic chemical substances and recombinant DNA, care should be taken in treating such waste.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

On the track of medical waste. Will a national medical waste policy wash up on the beach?

There's no question that medical waste pushes the nation's panic button. It took only two summers (1987 and 1988) of needles and syringes washing ashore to generate a groundswell of public anxiety that caused Congress to pass the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988. The act was the federal government's first attempt at cradle to grave waste management through a two-year pilot program involving four states and Puerto Rico. Now that the act and the pilot program have expired, Congress must evaluate their impact and decide whether to pursue a national medical waste policy. Such a policy likely would address the work practices of occupational groups, such as laundry workers, who frequently have contact with medical waste.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed1990

[Medical wastes. 2. Comparative studies of the microbial contamination of wastes from medical practices of different disciplines and household garbage].

Medical consulting room wastes of 7 disciplines were investigated quantitatively and qualitatively for nosocomial infective agents. 20-25 samples from each consulting room were examined for 3 months. The results were compared with those of household refuse and hospital wastes. The whole content of a waste bag was suspended without a preceding sorting and the eluate was microbiologically examined. The results of the investigations proved, that the germ concentration of the medical consulting room wastes was less than that of household refuse. The median for all investigated germ groups was less than 1 log(10)-step compared-to household refuse. The statistical analyses confirmed highly significant differences (p less than 0.001) for total germ concentration, thermoresistant obligate aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria and bacteria spores. Exceptionally the paediatric consulting room wastes show smaller differences (p less than 0.01) between the household refuse for obligate and facultative anaerobic bacteria, thermoresistant obligate and facultative anaerobic bacteria and bacteria spores and D-streptococci. From the comparison of total germ concentration for medical wastes from conservative disciplines and household refuse resulted that wastes from medical consulting rooms are less contaminated with nosocomial infective agents than household refuse and hospital wastes. In conclusion wastes from medical consulting rooms can, similar to hospital wastes, be disposed together with household refuse.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2000

[Proper disposal(management) of medical wastes--the appropriate management of medical waste in laboratory].

In accordance with "The Manual for Management of Infectious Waste" which is based on the "Waste Management Law", a counterplan for the appropriate management of medical waste must be carried out in every hospital. This requires establishing "a committee for the appropriate management of medical waste" and to assign a "responsible person for management of medical waste" (an administrator for managing industrial waste under special control) inside the hospital. Since the law requires hospitals to take responsibility for discharging medical waste, hospitals must adopt a prudent policy for waste management. It becomes a most critical issue for hospitals, because medical waste is the subject of spot inspection under the supervision of MHW, and also the subject of border transgression prohibition between countries(both import and export) by the Bazel Treaty (1989) that Japan ratified in 1993. In this study, we discuss medical waste management in the central laboratory based upon the counterplan for appropriate management of medical waste at our hospital.

Containment of Biohazards↗
PubMed1992

The management of hospital medical waste. How to increase efficiency through a medical waste audit.

Medical waste is a nightmare for hospital administrators, cutting across department boundaries and incorporating legal, financial, and community concerns. In this two-part article the author provides a stepwise approach to effective waste management. The first part gives background information on waste generation, storage, and disposal and delineates the framework of a medical waste audit. This audit is put to the test in the second part, where data from a pilot trial at an actual hospital are presented and discussed.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed2000

[Measures for the disposal of non-regulated alternative medical wastes--prion protein-polluted medical waste].

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), sometimes known as prion diseases, are fatal degenerative brain diseases. From epidemiological evidence and many investigations of data, the risk that TSE agents will be transmitted from TSE patients to other humans, is very low, but TSE agents comprise one of the very severe bio-medical hazards. Although government agencies, world organization and other institutions have distributed some guidances for safe working and prevention of infection, these guidances are not compulsory and no globally harmonized guidelines is present to date. Therefore, medical staff particularly in hospitals individually take countermeasures for safety against TSE agents by using these guidelines, and both the level and method differ in each hospital. In this chapter, transmission of TSE and related parts of guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens and Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee in the United Kingdom recommending relatively strict standards are described.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

[Proper disposal(management) of medical wastes--appropriate handling and disposal of medical wastes from pathology laboratories].

The appropriate handling and disposal of medical wastes from pathology laboratories were reviewed. Emphasis was placed on basic ideas regarding 1) the reduction of the total volume of the wastes and prevention of unnecessary waste production, and 2) laboratory practices friendly to the global environment. An ethical perspective is needed for the disposal of human organs and tissues. Evaporation-assisted reuse of organic solvents and formaldehyde, and filter adsorption of carcinogenic substances such as diaminobenzidine and ethidium bromide are also described.

Formaldehyde↗
PubMed1991

Medical waste: a minimal hazard.

Medical waste is a subset of municipal waste, and regulated medical waste comprises less than 1% of the total municipal waste volume in the United States. As part of the overall waste stream, medical waste does contribute in a relative way to the aesthetic damage of the environment. Likewise, some small portion of the total release of hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials is derived from medical wastes. These comments can be made about any generated waste, regulated or unregulated. Healthcare professionals, including infection control personnel, microbiologists, public health officials, and others, have unsuccessfully argued that there is no evidence that past methods of treatment and disposal of regulated medical waste constitute any public health hazard. Historically, discovery of environmental contamination by toxic chemical disposal has followed assurances that the material was being disposed of in a safe manner. Therefore, a cynical public and its elected officials have demanded proof that the treatment and disposal of medical waste (i.e., infectious waste) do not constitute a public health hazard. Existent studies on municipal waste provide that proof. In order to argue that the results of these municipal waste studies are demonstrative of the minimal potential infectious environmental impact and lack of public health hazard associated with medical waste, we must accept the following: that the pathogens are the same whether they come from the hospital or the community, and that the municipal waste studied contained waste materials we now define as regulated medical waste.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Hazardous Substances↗
PubMed1990

Medical waste regulations.

Medical waste generators are subject to federal and state waste tracking and reporting regulations. Failure to comply with regulations can result in the imposition of significant penalties.

Humans↗
PubMed1989

AVMA guide for veterinary medical waste management.

Lawmakers have enacted a variety of laws and regulations to ensure proper disposal of certain potentially infectious or otherwise objectionable waste. The veterinary medical profession supports scientifically based regulations that benefit public health. In 1988, Congress passed the Medical Waste Tracking Act, a federal program that mandates tracking certain regulated waste. Several types of waste generated in the typical clinical veterinary medical practice are considered regulated veterinary medical waste. Discarded needles, syringes, and other sharps; vaccines and vials that contained certain live or attenuated vaccines; cultures and stocks of infectious agents and culture plates; research animals that were exposed to agents that are infectious to human beings and their associated waste; and other animal waste that is known to be potentially harmful to human beings should be handled as regulated veterinary medical waste. Regulated veterinary medical waste should be handled with care. It should be decontaminated prior to disposal. The most popular, effective methods of decontamination are steam sterilization (autoclaving) and incineration. Chemical decontamination is appropriate for certain liquid waste. Waste should be packaged so that it does not spill. Sharps require rigid puncture- and leak-resistant containers that can be permanently sealed. Regulated veterinary medical waste that has not been decontaminated should be labeled with the universal biohazard symbol. Generators retain liability for waste throughout the entire disposal process. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that waste transporters and disposal facilities comply with state and federal requirements. Veterinary practices should maintain a written waste management program and accurate records of regulated veterinary medical waste disposal. Contingency planning and staff training are other important elements of a veterinary medical waste management program. The guide includes a model veterinary medical waste management program; however, it does not address all the variations in state and local regulations. Veterinarians should obtain copies of state and local laws and regulations and modify AVMA's model plan to create an individualized practice plan that complies with federal, state, and local laws and regulations. State and local veterinary medical organizations should monitor state and local regulation to influence decisions that affect veterinarians and to keep their members informed of changing requirements. Veterinarians and veterinary medical organizations must stay involved so that regulations do not unfairly burden the veterinary medical profession.

Directories as Topic↗
PubMed1993

Cost appropriateness: can we $afford$ another Medical Waste Tracking Act?

Medical waste has, with each passing year, become a subject of greater and greater concern for the general public, legislative bodies, and the healthcare industry. Regulations have been passed and governing organizations created to set the problem right. These actions have cost the healthcare industry (and thus the public) exorbitant amounts of money. But is the panic wrongly focused, and is money being spent on the wrong things? This article discusses these issues and makes some eye-opening revelations about the medical waste crisis.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2005

Evaluation of medical waste incinerators in Alexandria.

Medical establishments play important roles in different activities by using of modern technology to serve the humans and the environment through different departments in the establishment and its firms. Medical wastes are considered as a hazardous waste because they contain toxic materials, infectious, or non-infectious wastes and they are considered as a hazard to millions of patients, health care workers, and visitors. Treatment processes for medical wastes comprise autoclaving, microwaving, chemical disinfection, irradiation, plasma system, and incineration. Incineration is a thermal process, which destroys most of the waste including microorganisms. Combustion process must be under controlled conditions to convert wastes containing hazardous materials into mineral residues and gases. Hospital waste incinerators may emit a number of pollutants depending on the waste being incinerated. These pollutants include particulate matter, acid gases, toxic metals, and toxic organic compounds products of incomplete combustion, e.g., dioxins, furans, and carbon monoxide, as well as sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides. So, there should be a reduction of emissions of most of these pollutants by air pollution control devices. This study was conducted in 51 medical establishments (ME) in Alexandria. To evaluate its incinerators. It was found that only 31.4% of total ME have their own incinerators to treat their medical waste. Also, the incinerators conditions were poor with incomplete combustion. So, the study recommend handling of all medical wastes of ME in Alexandria by the company which is responsible now for management of domestic solid wastes of the city.

Air Pollutants↗