Disposal of Hazardous Waste

Micheal Walters

HCS/430

July 25, 2013
Cliffornia J. Rolle

Disposal of Hazardous Waste

The way that huge amounts of hazardous waste are disposed of could be one of the most dangerous aspects of the health care industry, at least as it relates to security measures. Safe and proper disposal of hazardous and toxic waste is a primary issue for developing regulatory compliance because it affects not only the general populace, but the health care employees as well. “The focus of this kind of training often is almost remedial simply due to employees having little or no experience in dealing with these kinds of materials and not being fully cognizant of the extent of the potential risk.” (Timothy Sexton, Jan 30, 2007) It has also been made very important to make organizational hierarchies which are good at assigning responsibility for being capable of doing the proper disposal of hazardous waste. Also it is extremely important that the hazardous waste stream is able to be tracked. “And finally it is recommended that systematic evaluation and analysis of the process for disposing of hazardous waste be conducted in order to improve upon any flaws or gaps in the system.” (Timothy Sexton, Jan 30, 2007) Evaluations on hazardous waste disposal should be performed on a regular basis like emergency and fire drills. “It is recommended that systematic evaluation and analysis of the process for disposing of waste be conducted in order to improve upon any flaws or gaps in the system.” (Timothy Sexton, Jan 30, 2007) What medical waste is sometimes causes some confusion. That is why the Medical Waste tracking Act of 1988 was made by the Environmental Protection Agency. The law states that everything used or tested on a person along with any trash from biological experiments is medical waste. Some of the most common wastes are needles, bloody bandages, and bacterial cultures. Here are some of the most important instructions on disposing medical hazardous waste: 1) “Dispose of all sharp waste (i.e., syringes, which can poke through a bag) in a small biohazard sharps bin. The sharps bin must have the label "Biohazard Waste" or a biohazard sign along with the word "Biohazard." When the bin is full, close it according to the manufacturer's instructions. 2) Dispose of other waste in a biohazard bag. Biohazard bags are red and, like biohazard bins, are labeled with the biohazard sign and the word "biohazard." Biohazard bags must be moisture-resistant and must avoid rips, tears or bursting. 3) Call your city's Environmental Health department for specific directives for how to transport the waste and where to dispose of it. The Environmental Health Department will be able to advise you on which facility you should use, and any companies that might transport the waste for you. The CDC provides a state-by-state list of community needle disposal sites.” (Tricia Lobo) “Most federal medical waste disposal regulations fall under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 Subtitle C. In order to be considered hazardous medical waste, refuse must meet certain requirements, such as deadly or flammable. Medical waste that does not meet the definition of hazardous is simply regarded as normal municipal waste.” (Russell Huebsch) Supervision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act applies to the The management of medical waste in workplaces, according to the EPA. It may be required for businesses that produce medical waste under the RCRA to train their employees on how to institute a plan to dispose of medical waste, identify dangers, and handle medical waste. “Those who work in the transportation of medical waste also adhere to regulations through State Departments of Transportation and the EPA.” (Russell Huebsch) So long as the state program exceeds federal guidelines the federal government authorizes the different states to increase the scope of monitoring of medical waste and to make tougher regulations under the RCRA. It is suggested that people check the state regulatory agencies for the exact laws and details because the state programs authorized by the RCRA can vary from the federal regulations. “The EPA urges people to consider safely disposing medical waste at specified sites instead of throwing it in with municipal trash. Hospitals and doctor's offices usually offer to dispose of needles for free or a small charge. Some programs even offer to exchange dirty syringes for new ones; the North American Syringe Exchange Network is free and their web site is located in the resources section.” (Russell Huebsch)

References
Timothy Sexton, Yahoo! Contributor Network Jan 30, 2007 http://voices.yahoo.com/ethical-regulatory-issues-health-care-industry-174061.html Russell Huebsch, eHow Contributor http://www.ehow.com/about_5556660_medical-waste-laws.html Tricia Lobo, eHow Contributor
http://www.ehow.com/how_8181128_safe-disposal-medical-waste.html