Medical Waste Management

1. Medical Waste
Presented By-
Name : Vilas Bhagwan Adole.
Roll No.: MMS B-01
Specialization: Operations Management.

2. WHAT IS A MEDICAL WASTE?
Definition of Medical Waste
Medical waste includes all
infectious waste, hazardous
(including low-level radioactive
wastes), and any other wastes
that are generated from all types
of health care institutions,
including hospitals, clinics,
doctor’s (including dental and
veterinary) offices and medical
laboratories.

3. WHAT IS A REGULATED MEDICAL
WASTE?
Definition of Regulated Medical Waste
Regulated Medical Waste is a subset of all medical
wastes and include seven distinct categories:
1. Cultures and stocks of infectious agents.
2. Human pathological wastes (e.g. tissues, body
parts)
3. Human blood and blood products
4. Sharps (e.g. hypodermic needles and syringes)
5. Certain animal wastes
6. Certain isolation wastes (e.g. wastes from
patients with highly communicable diseases)
7. Unused sharps.

4. WHAT IS AN INFECTIOUS WASTE?
Definition of an Infectious Waste
EPA has provided the following guidance on what
constitutes an infectious waste. These factors
include:
1. Presence of a pathogen of sufficient virulence
2. Dose
3. Portal of entry
4. Resistance of host
Thus, for a waste to be infectious, it must contain a
pathogen with sufficient virulence and quantity so
that exposure to the waste by a person or animal
could result in an infectious disease.

5. WHAT IS AN INFECTIOUS WASTE?
EPA categorizes infectious wastes into the following
seven categories:
1. Isolation wastes – wastes generated by
hospitalized patients who are isolated to protect
others from communicable diseases.
2. Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and
associated biologicals – this category includes:
- Specimens from medical and biological
laboratories
- Cultures and stocks of infectious agents from
clinical, research, and industrial laboratories
3. Human blood and blood products – this includes
waste blood, serum, plasma, and blood products.

6. WHAT IS AN INFECTIOUS WASTE?
4. Pathological waste – tissues, organs, body parts,
blood, and body fluids.
5. Contaminated sharps – contaminated hypodermic
needles, syringes, scalpel blades, Pasteur pipettes,
and broken glass.
6. Contaminated animal carcasses, body parts, and
animal bedding
7. Miscellaneous Contaminated Wastes – these
include:
- Wastes from surgery and autopsy
- Miscellaneous laboratory wastes
- Dialysis unit wastes
- Contaminated equipment

7. INFECTIOUS WASTE
MANAGEMENT PLANS
Components of an Infectious Waste Management Plan:
1. Designation of the waste that should be managed as
infectious
2. Segregation of infectious waste from the noninfectious
waste
3. Packaging
4. Storage
5. Treatment
6. Disposal
7. Contingency measures for emergency situations
8. Staff training

8. Waste management hierarchy