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Explaining Biohazardous Waste

When we hear the word “biohazardous”, or see the established and well recognizable sign for it, our brain immediately clicks and sends us a signal that this is something that can be dangerous for us. As such, every healthcare facility has a very important task to perform, on top of providing medical care to people. That is making sure that their medical waste management Davie organization protects the public and the environment from any types of biohazardous waste.

4 Levels of Biohazards

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 4 levels of biohazards:

  1. Bacteria and viruses (Chicken pox, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis)
  2. Bacteria and viruses that are difficult to contract or can cause mild disease to humans (Hepatitis A, B and C, measles, salmonella)
  3. Bacteria that can cause severe and even fatal disease, but for which there is a treatment (SARS, tuberculosis, typhus, HIV)
  4. Bacteria that can cause severe to fatal disease and for which there is no treatment or cure (Ebola, hantavirus)

What’s This have to do With Bio-Hazardous Medical Waste Management?

Everything! Many of these bacteria and viruses can be found in hospital waste and without a proper medical waste management Davie plan, we would be at a great risk from biohazardous waste.

Bio-hazardous waste is most often described as any medical waste that can cause and infection or disease to humans and is a result of either human or animal treatment.

  • What are the dangers of improper bio-hazardous medical waste management?

There are a number of dangers associated with bio-hazardous medical waste management. The biggest of them includes the possibility of another patient contracting a blood-borne viruses such as HIV from a non-sanitized needle, a medical waste handler cutting himself on a loose scalpel that wast previously used on a sick patient, but also contaminating the soil, atmosphere and ground waster with a dangerous pathogen.

  • How should it be disposed of?

Biohazardous waste needs to be disposed of according to the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines. For further information on medical waste management Davie, you should visit this organization’s website.

Types of Biohazardous Waste

There are 6 types of biohazardous waste:

  1. Human blood and blood products. All human blood or blood products, including any medical equipment and other items that have been exposed to human blood are bio-hazardous waste.
  2. Human bodily fluids. All human bodily fluids (in both liquid or semi-liquid state) are considered to be biohazardous waste. This includes urine, semen, saliva, vomit and other fluids.
  3. Animal waste. Animal waste is not always considered to be biohazardous. This is only when it has been contaminated with a pathogen that is also infectious to people. Animal waste includes carcasses, body parts, organs, tissue, beddings.
  4. Pathological waste. Pathological wastes are human body parts, organs and tissue. This means basically any anatomical parts from surgery procedures, biopsy materials, but not skin.
  5. Microbiological waste. Microbiological wastes are produced by laboratories and include culture dishes and stocks among the rest. It is necessary that the medical care facility’s bio-hazardous medical waste management especially carefully deals with this type of medical waste.
  6. Sharps waste. Sharps waste includes needles, syringes, IV tubing, glass pipettes, razor blades and anything else that can cut or pierce and that has been contaminated with blood or other infectious material. Since sharps can cut a red biohazard waste bag with ease, it is necessary to first put them in a container that is resistant to puncture.