Millions of Americans require a weekly of injection of medication to control things such as diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. The needles used are considered to be biohazard waste, also known as biomedical waste, and need to be disposed of properly by both hospitals, medical facilities, blood banks, and individuals. According to the Hazard Awareness and Management Manual (HAMM) of Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), other types of biohazard waste are:
- Human blood and its components in liquid and semi-liquid form, dried or not
- Human body floods in liquid or semi-liquid form, dried or not
- Human pathological waste
- Animal waste
- Microbiological waste
- Sharps waste encompassing all sharp medical utensils
- Any other medical supply or equipment including gloves, towels, used bandages and dressings that have come into contact with any of the previous materials mentioned.
It is important that you use the appropriate containers to store and dispose of the biohazard waste. Fort Smith Medical & Janitorial Supply has a wide variety of Sharps containers in sizes to fit every need.
Medprodisposal.com has outlined some helpful information regarding the biohazard waste disposal management:
- Sharps must be placed in a puncture-resistant, tamper-proof container. Once it is three-quarters full it should be disposed of.
- Infectious waste should be placed in leak-proof plastic bags/containers suitable for the type of material.
- Low-level items such as swabs can be included with other waste to be incinerated.
All biohazard waste containers should be stored in an area separate from non-hazardous materials for no more than 72 hours in the winter and 48 hours in the summer.
For all your biohazard waste container needs, contact Fort Smith Medical & Janitorial Supply.