The people who are most at risk of improper disposal of medical waste are the healthcare workers, doctors, and nurses who work in hospitals and medical facilities themselves. This is why there are such elaborate medical waste disposal systems in place for the proper movement, treatment and, either destruction or recycling, of all items used in medical treatments.
The different sort of medical waste is disposed of in different ways. Different sorts of hazards are dealt with using neutralizing methods specifically made for them and finally disposed of in a way that would render that hazard harmless. Many of these guidelines are enforced through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA.
Today, we’ll talk about the various ways to ensure compliance with the OSHA regulations.
Personal Protective Equipment
It’s the responsibility of the medical facility or hospital hiring medical professionals to ensure proper protective gear is supplied to them for different procedures. The safety gear required for various hazardous operations and treatments can differ depending on what sort of risk is likely.
Procedures with pathological or biological hazards can be dealt with gowns and gloves, while radiotherapy and chemo may require stronger protective gear. The PPE must also be disposed of with the relevant waste, bloody gowns with pathological waste, for example.
No Unnecessary Exposure to Sharps
Sharps are maybe the most commonly known medical waste because of their inherent ability to harm people even when they are not contaminated. For this reason, sharps have to be kept out of reach when not required for treatments and must only be brought in when needed. Cuts and slashes themselves are a safety hazard, but with possible contamination, sharps have to be dealt with quite carefully.
Proper Disposal of Medical Waste
There are a lot of different sorts of infectious waste that are inside a medical facility. While most facilities will follow guidelines on how to safely store the waste away, it’s also important to dispose of them timely and properly. Proper sterilization and destruction of the waste must be followed through after storing. While some hospitals may have the facilities to do this in-house, others can use the pickup and disposal services of waste removal professionals.
Our team at Medical Systems has 24 years of experience dealing with regulated medical waste removal. For proper OSHA-compliant hazardous waste pickup and waste disposal services in Denver, schedule an appointment with our team.
