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Medical Waste Defined
| Material |
Biomedical Waste |
Normal Trash |
| Sharps (defined as any
device with physical characteristics that makes it possible to puncture,
lacerate or otherwise penetrate the skin) |
All used needles and scalpel
blades as well as glass or hard plastic (intact or broken) that is
contaminated with HUMAN disease-causing agents. |
Only glass or hard plastic
(when free from HUMAN disease-causing agents) can be disposed of as
normal waste. |
| Medical devices such as
blood tubes, vials, catheters, IV tubes, etc. |
Should be considered
biomedical waste only when they contain HUMAN pathogens or they have
been used on an animal with a disease that can be transmitted to humans. |
Devices which simply contain
or are contaminated with animal blood (except from primates) are
normally not considered biomedical waste. |
| Animal tissues |
Only dead animals or animal
parts which are infected with diseases that are communicable to humans
are considered biomedical waste; this includes but is not limited to
rabies, brucellosis, systemic fungal diseases, tuberculosis, atypical
mycobacteriosis, etc. |
Tissues from routine surgical
procedures (castration, ovariohysterectomy, etc) should be considered
regular waste. |
| Laboratory Cultures |
Microbiological cultures
(bacterial, fungal or viral) of HUMAN pathogens are considered
biomedical waste. |
In some cases, culture media
from negative tests may be considered regular trash, but it is probably
wise to just classify all lab cultures as biomedical waste for
simplicity purposes. |
| Bandages/Sponges |
Used, absorbent materials such
as bandages, gauze, or sponges, which are saturated with blood or body
fluids that contain HUMAN pathogens that may splash or drip should be
considered biomedical waste. |
Sponges or bandages used on
animals (except primates) not infected with a disease communicable to
humans should be considered regular waste. |
| Animal waste |
Waste from animals infected
with a disease contagious to humans (which can be transmitted by means
of the waste) should be disposed of as biomedical waste. |
Normally, waste from animals
not infected with human disease-causing agents should be disposed of as
regular trash (except primates). |
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The information on these pages is excerpted from
The Veterinary Safety & Health Digest,
Copyright 2001 Philip J. Seibert, Jr., CVT All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced for distribution without prior
permission from the publisher.
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