DR. PRINCE C P explains the importance of Biomedical waste management

1. DR.PRINCE C P
Associate Professor , Department of Microbiology,
Mother Theresa Post Graduate & Research Institute of
Health Sciences
(Government of Puducherry Institution)
Bio Medical waste management

2. Definitions
 “Bio Medical waste” is any waste, which is
generated during the diagnosis, treatment or
immunization of human beings or animals or in
research activities pertaining to or in the production
or testing of biologicals.
 Hospital waste: refers to all waste, biological or non
biological, that is discarded from a hospital and is not
intended for further use
 Medical waste: refers to materials generated as a
result of patient diagnoses, treatment, immunization
of human beings or animals
 Infectious waste: are the portion of medical waste
that could transmit an ‘infectious disease’.

3. Hazards of Hospital Waste
 Fire
 Breeding of flies and insects
 Proliferation of rodents
 Air pollution
 Water pollution
 Land pollution
 Transmission of infections viz hepatitis B, HIV, other
microbes
 Mechanical injury
 Re-circulation of waste
 Loss of aesthetics
 Nuclear waste hazards & carcinogenic effect

4. Steps involved in hospital waste
management
 Sorting
 Handling
 Treatment- Decontamination
 Interim Storage
 Disposal

5. Categorization of waste and the method
of disposal
 Categorised into 10 categories based on
hazardous nature of the waste.

6. Category Waste Type Treatment and Disposal Method
Category 1 Human Wastes (Tissues, organs,
body parts
Incineration / deep burial
Category 2 Animal Waste Incineration / deep burial
Category 3 Microbiology and Biotechnology
waste
Autoclave/microwave/incineration
Category 4 Sharps chemical Disinfection
treatment)+/autoclaving/
microwaving and
mutilation shredding
Category 5 Discarded Medicines and Cytotoxic
Drugs
Incineration/ destruction and
drugs disposal in secured landfills
Category 6 Contaminated solid waste Incineration/autoclaving /
microwaving
Category 7 Solid waste (disposable items
other than sharps)
Disinfection by chemical
treatment+
microwaving/autoclaving &
mutilation shredding
Category 8 Liquid waste (generated from
laboratory washing, cleaning,
housekeeping and disinfecting
activity)
Disinfection by chemical
treatment+ and discharge into the
drains
Category 9 Incineration ash
Disposal in municipal landfill
Category 10 Chemical Wastes Chemical Treatment + and
discharge in to drain for liquids
and secured landfill for solids

7. Color codes for Biomedical waste
collection and segregation

8. Symbols

9. Disposal sharps

10. Sorting
 Sorting is separating waste by type
(e.g., infectious waste, pharmaceutical waste) into
color-coded bags at the place where it is
generated.

11. Treatment- decontamination
 Chemical disinfection
 Autoclaving

12. Interim storage
 Interim storage is storing waste within the
facility until it can be transported for final disposal.

13. Final Disposal of Solid Medical
& General Waste
 There are two different ways of final disposal
at a facility:
 Burn and Non-Burn techniques.

14. Non-burn techniques
 Burying solid medical waste. To use the burial
method of waste disposal there must be enough
space available to dig a burial pit and to enclose it
in a fence or a wall

15. . Burn technique
 Incineration of solid medical waste Incinerating is the
best option for solid waste disposal, since the high
temperature (1300 °C) destroys microorganisms and
reduces the amount of waste.
 Burning in an incinerator or oil drum is recommended.
 Facilities that generate low levels of solid medical
waste can use a small drum incinerator. A drum
 Place the incinerator on hard earth to prevent grass or
vegetation from catching fire. The drum incinerator
should have sufficient air inlet to allow for efficient and
complete burning of medical waste.
 Burn only medical waste to minimize the amount of
waste to be burned.

16. incinerator
 Suitably designed pollution control devices should
be installed/retrofitted with the incinerator to
achieve the above emission limits, if necessary.
 Wastes to be incinerated shall not be chemically
treated with any chlorinated disinfectants.
 Chlorinated plastics shall not be incinerated.
 Toxic metals in incineration ash shall be limited
within the regulatory quantities as defined under
the Hazardous Waste (Management and
Handling Rules,) 1989.
 Only low sulphur fuel shall be used as fuel in the
incinerator.

17. Containers – Colour
 Container colour
 Tells other staff what is in the container
 Tells the contractor what to do with the waste
 Can apply to both sacks and rigid containers
Safe for Disposal to
General Waste
Lab plastics
Carcass, anatomical
Sharps
Cytotoxic

19. segregation

20. Incinerator

21. General Principles of Waste
Management
 A clear policy for waste management.
 The policy should describe in detail the methods of
waste segregation, collection, storage, and disposal.
 Roles and responsibilities of different team members
should be clarified.
 One key person should be assigned the responsibility
of waste management.
 All used sharps must be discarded without
resheathing in a puncture-resistant container that is
readily accessible.
 All clinical waste e.g., waste contaminated with blood
and/or bloody fluids should be discarded into a
colored bag (e.g. red or yellow).
 Segregation of waste should take place at its site of
origin.

22. Don'ts for handing and Disposal of Hospital
Waste
1. Don’t mix the infectious with non-infectious
waste.
2. Don’t throw sharps in the trash or into non-
puncture proof containers.
3. Don’t recap the needle or bend or break needles
by hand.
4. Don’t fill the waste container more than 3/4th of
capacity.
5. Don’t allow unauthorised persons access to
waste collection/storage areas.
6. Don’t use open buckets for infectious waste or
sharps.

23. Waste management rules
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Research

24. Thank you
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness”