Universal safety precautions and proper biomedical waste management are essential to protect healthcare workers and patients from infections. Key components include standard precautions applied to all patients, proper hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, safe handling of sharps, cleaning spills, covering wounds, immunization, and regulated collection, transport, treatment and disposal of biomedical waste. Waste must be segregated by category and color coded, treated appropriately through methods like incineration or autoclaving, and disposed of properly to prevent the spread of disease.

1. Universal safety precautions
and Biomedical waste
management

2. Universal Safety Precautions
 simple set of effective practices/guidelines
 designed to protect
 health care workers
 patients
 from infection with a range of pathogens including
bloodborne viruses.
 Applied universally in caring for all patients

3. Why Universal
The concept of Universal Health
Precautions emphasizes that all
our patients should be treated as
though they have potential blood
born infections, and can infect
the caring health care workers

4. Standard Precautions
 Term has replaced “universal precautions”
 Precautions meant to reduce the risk of
transmission of bloodborne and other pathogens
from both recognized and unrecognized sources

5. Human materials/Tissues
considered Highly Infectious
 Blood
 Semen
 Vaginal secretions
 C S F
 Synovial fluids
 Amniotic fluid
 All other body fluids

6. Not Infectious unless contaminated with
Blood or Body fluids.
 Feces,
 Nasal secretions,
 Sputum,
 Sweat,
 Tears,
 Urine / Vomitus,
 Saliva unless blood
stained.

7. Components
 Hand hygiene
 Personal protection by Personal protective
equipment (PPE)
 Preventing injuries from sharp
 Promptly and carefully cleaning up spills of
blood and other body fluids
 Covering all cuts and abrasions with a
waterproof dressing
 Immunization
 Bio medical waste management and disposal

8. Hand hygiene
 Hand washing – using soap and water
 Hand rubbing – using alcohol based rubs

9. Ignaz Semmelweiss

10. Summary indications
 Before and after any direct patient contact
 Immediately after gloves are removed.
 Before handling an invasive device.
 After touching blood, body fluids, secretions,
excretions, non-intact skin, and contaminated
items, even if gloves are worn.
 During patient care, when moving from a
contaminated to a clean body site of the
patient.

11. Hand hygiene

12. Personal protective equipments (PPE)
 Gloves-
 Use disposable gloves if chances of contact
with Blood or Body fluid is anticipated/
inevitable

13. Personal protective equipments (PPE)
 Facial protection (eyes, nose, and mouth)-
 a surgical or procedure mask
 eye protection (eye visor, goggles)
 a face shield to protect mucous membranes of the
eyes, nose, and mouth during activities that are
likely to generate splashes or sprays of blood,
body fluids, secretions, and excretions.

14. Personal protective equipments (PPE)
 Impervious Gown
 Aprons
 Footwears

15. Preventing injuries from sharp
 Needle stick injuries
 Sharp instruments
 Handling needles, scalpels, and other sharp
instruments or devices
 Cleaning used instruments
 Disposing of used needles and other sharp
instruments

16. Hazards of Needle stick Injuries
 HIV HBV and HCV viral infections can
spread by Needle stick Injuries
 Nursing staff are at greater risk
 Several Injuries are preventable

17. Bio-medical waste management
Bio-medical waste-
 Health care waste includes
 Waste generated by the health care facilities
 Diagnosis, treatment and immunization
 Research facilities
 Laboratories

19. THE NEED FOR HOSPITAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
 Hazard to other patients
 Hazard to the health care workers
 Health hazard to the community at large

20. Nosocomial infection
Infection outside health care
setting
Injury from sharps
Recycling of disposables
Risk due to hazardous chemicals
drugs
HEALTH HAZARDS

21. Hospital waste: Qty
 1-2 kg of waste per pt /day
Hospital waste: Type
 Non Hazardous- 85%
 Bio hazardous- 15%

22. Non-hazardous
 Biodegradable
 natural kitchen waste
 Non biodegradable
 Wrappings, foils
 plastic bags
 man made

23. Bio hazardous waste
 Infectious waste- (sharps,non sharps,
plastics, disposables ,liquid waste)
 Non infectious waste- (discarded glass,
chemical waste, cytotoxic waste, incinerated
waste)
Any Bio hazardous waste mixed with general
waste renders the whole waste Bio hazardous

24. Bio Medical Waste :
(Management and Handling) Rules
The Gazette of India
Extraordinary, Part II-Section3-Subsection(ii)
 MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND
FORESTS NOTIFICATION
 24th Aug, 2011

25. Responsibility
 Every hospital generating
Biomedical waste need
to set up requisite
Biomedical waste
treatment facilities to
ensure requisite
treatment of waste.

26. Flow of Biomedical waste
Waste generation
Waste segregation
Waste collection/storage
Waste transport
Waste disposal
General waste
Recycling of selected
materials
Return outdated drugs
Waste treatment

27. Waste generation
 Reduction in volume
 Reuse/ Recycle

28. Segregation
 The segregation of Biomedical waste is the key to
successful Biomedical waste management.
 Separation of waste at the point of generation
 Different coloured containers as per rules

29. CATEGORIES OF BIO-MEDICAL WASTE
 Category No. 1 Human Anatomical Waste
(human tissues, organs, body parts)
 Category No. 2 Animal Waste
(animal tissues, organs, body parts carcasses,
bleeding parts, fluid, blood and experimental
animals used in research, waste generated by
veterinary hospitals, colleges, discharge from
hospitals, animal houses)

30.  Category No. 3 Microbiology & Biotechnology Waste
(Wastes from laboratory cultures, human and animal cell
culture, infectious agents from research and industrial
laboratories, wastes from production of biologicals, etc
 Category No. 4 Waste Sharps
(needles, syringes, scalpels, blade, glass, etc. that may
cause puncture and cuts. This includes both used and
unused sharps)
 Category No. 5 Discarded Medicines and Cytotoxic
drugs
(Waste comprising of outdated, contaminated and
discarded medicines)

31.  Category No. 6 Soiled Waste
(items contaminated with blood, and body fluids including cotton,
dressings, soiled plaster casts, lines, bedding, other material
contaminated with blood)
 Category No. 7 Solid Waste
(Waste generated from disposal items other than the sharps
such a tubings, gloves, saline bottles, catheters, intravenous sets
etc.)
 Category No. 8 Chemical Waste
(Chemicals used in production of biologicals, chemicals
used in disinfection, as insecticides, etc.)

32. Segregation
 Non plastic infectious waste- Yellow
 Plastic infectious waste- Red
 Sharp waste- Red puncture proof container
 Chemical waste- Blue
 General waste- Black

34. Segregation

36. Colour coding-biomedical waste
Yellow bag
 Cat 1- human anatomical
 Cat 2- animal waste
 Cat 5-discarded medicines
and cytotoxic drugs
 Cat 6-soiled waste
NO CHEMICAL
PRETREATMENT

37. Waste collection
Red bag
Cat 3-microbiological waste
Cat 7-Infectious solid waste
DISINFECTION DONE
PRIOR TO DISPOSAL

39. Waste collection
 Puncture proof containers with bio-hazard
symbol
 Cat 4-waste sharps

40. Blue bags/ containers
 Category 8- Chemical waste, disinfectants,
insecticides
Chemical treatment and discharge into drains

41. LABEL FOR BIO-MEDICAL WASTE
CONTAINERS/BAGS
 All bags and containers
for bio medical waste
should be marked with
biohazard symbol

42. Waste storage
No untreated BMW should be kept stored
beyond a period of 48 hrs.

45. Transportation
 Biomedical waste should be transported
within the hospital by means of wheeled
trolleys that are not used for any other
purpose.

46. HCW- Waste handlers

47. Waste Disposal
 Yellow bag-
 Cat 1,2,5 &6
 Incineration

48. Waste Disposal
 Red bag
 Cat 3,7
 Disinfection/ Shredding
and recycling

49. Disinfection
 Disinfectants- Chemical treatment
 Autoclaving
 Microwave
 Shredding

50. Sharps
 Red puncture proof containers
 Autoclave/ Microwave/ Chemical disinfection
 Secured landfill

51. Liquid waste
 Cat 8
 Treated with chemicals and neutralized
 Discharged into drains

52.  Black bag
 General waste
 Municipal landfills