Medical Waste Management

Poor management of health care waste potentially exposes health care workers waste handlers patients and the community at large to infection toxic effects and injuries and risks polluting the environment.

Medical waste management.

Waste management can determine if on site treatment of medical wastes is cost effective and operationally feasible for you. You will learn how to identify medical waste risks how to classify different types of medical waste and finally how to estimate their production. The mwta was a two year federal program in which epa was required to promulgate regulations on management of medical waste. Medical waste management is a set of measures to address those risks.

2 health care facility medical wastes targeted for handling and disposal precautions include microbiology laboratory waste. In a high pressure environment that makes life or death decisions it s understandable that how to deal with the fallouts of the processes comes as an afterthought. Medical waste management program to protect the public and the environment from potentially infectious disease causing agents the medical waste management program program in the environmental management branch regulates the generation handling storage treatment and disposal of medical waste by providing oversight for the implementation. Waste contaminated with blood and other bodily fluids e g.

The regulations for this two year program went into effect on june 24 1989 in four states new york new jersey connecticut and rhode island and puerto rico. Medical waste management employees are trained on all aspects of florida department of public health osha and d o h. Managing waste in medical facilities is a frequently overlooked topic for healthcare practitioners. The most practical approach to medical waste management is to identify wastes that represent a sufficient potential risk of causing infection during handling and disposal and for which some precautions likely are prudent.

It is essential that all medical waste materials are segregated at the point of generation appropriately treated and disposed of safely. Over 10 years serving the. Waste from autopsies and infected animals from laboratories or waste from patients with infections e g. The agency did so on march 24 1989.

Backed by our experience with various treatment systems we can recommend the optimal treatment system for your needs. Swabs bandages and disposable medical devices. Medical waste management assists the facility in developing new programs that establish a more focused recycling effort and enhancing current programs to create continual improvement. Medical waste management closely networks with a variety of recyclers and waste to energy providers to maximize recycling efforts.