What is a medical waste? What is medical waste disposal?
Medical waste is known in many names, such as: Medical waste, Biomedical waste, Clinical waste, Biohazardous waste, Regulated Medical Waste (RMW), Infectious Medical Waste, and Healthcare waste.
Medical waste is “any solid waste that is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biologicals”, as defined by the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988.
In much simpler terms, medical waste is a waste that contains infectious or potentially infectious materials that can spread illnesses or diseases both to humans and animals.
Medical waste disposal, on the other hand, is the ways and methods of disposing and managing medical waste.
Medical Waste: Types and Examples
Medical waste is a waste produced from health care facilities or health care providers, such as: hospitals, clinics, physician’s offices, dental clinics or practices, blood banks, and veterinary hospitals or clinics, as well as medical research facilities and laboratories. And is created from biological and medical activities like treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of diseases.
Non-health care facilities can also contribute to the production of medical waste, for example: residential or commercial establishments where someone has a minor accident or gets cut, people who use sharps and syringes to monitor and control diabetes, and home care nurses.
It is also critical to know which Medical & Biohazardous Waste Disposal in Louisiana to trust, since there are different categories of medical waste as identified by WHO. Below is a list of them.
- Sharps – This is a waste that can cut or penetrate through the skin. This includes, scalpels, lancets, broken glass, razors, ampules, staples, wires, and trocars.
- Pharmaceuticals – This category covers all contaminated, expired, and not used drugs and vaccines; as well as injectables, antibiotics and pills.
- Chemical – This waste encompasses all disinfectants and solvents that are used in a laboratory. It also includes batteries and heavy metals that came from damaged or defective apparatus.
- Infectious Waste – This is a waste that are contagious or possibly contagious, such as: tissues, swabs, excreta, and lab cultures and equipment.
- Radioactive -This waste is consisting of unused radiotherapy liquid, or any glassware and supplies infected with this liquid.
- Genotoxic Waste– This kind of medical waste can either be mutagenic, teratogenic, or carcinogenic, and is very dangerous. This may consist of cytotoxic drugs. Drugs that are used for cancer treatment.
- General Non-Regulated Medical Waste – This waste is also known as a non-hazardous waste.
Disposal of Medical Waste
Daniels your trusted and reliable Medical & Biohazardous Waste Disposal in Louisiana can provide you with a wide range of medical waste disposal services, depending on what type of business and what you need, such as:
- Sharps Disposal
- RMW Disposal
- Chemotherapy Disposal
- Pharmaceutical Disposal
- Controlled Substances
- Pathological Disposal
- Hazardous / RCRA Disposal
- OR Safety Solutions
- Gate Waste
For different business types, like:
- Surgical Centers
- Oncology Centers
- General Practices
- Dialysis Centers
- Ambulatory Care
- Pharmacies
- Dentists
- Veterinarians
- Retail and Other
