SYMPOSIM ON BMW

NEED FOR BIO-MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT: -

The reasons due to which there is great need of management of hospitals waste such as:

Injuries from sharps leading to infection to all categories of hospital personnel and waste handler.

Nosocomial infections in patients from poor infection control practices and poor waste management.

Risk of infection outside hospital for waste handlers and scavengers and at time general public living in the vicinity of hospitals.Risk associated with hazardous chemicals, drugs to persons handling wastes at all levels.

“Disposable” being repacked and sold by unscrupulous elements without even being washed.Drugs which have been disposed of, being repacked and sold off to unsuspecting buyers.Risk of air, water and soil pollution directly due to waste, or due to defective incineration emissions and ash.

Who’s at Risk ?

Doctors and nurses

Patients

Hospital support staff

Waste collection and disposal staff

General public

Environment

HAZARDS OF BIOMEDIAL WASTE: -

1. Hazards associated with poor

health care waste management –

Proper disposal of biomedical waste is of paramount importance because of its infectious and hazardous characteristics. Improper disposal can result in the following:

Organic portion ferments and attracts fly breeding

Increase risk of infections to medical, nursing and other hospital staffInjuries from sharps to health workers and waste handlersPoor infection control can lead to nosocomial infections in patients particularly HIV, Hepatitis B & CInjuries from sharps to all categories of health care personnel and waste handlers.

Increase in risk associated with hazardous chemicals and drugs being handled by persons handling wastes.Poor waste management encourages unscrupulous persons to recycle disposables and disposed drugs for repacking and reselling.Development of resistant strains of microorganisms.

2. Persons at risk of the hazards of medical procedures -

Depending on the type of procedures, the persons at risk and mode of transmission in some common medical procedures are:

Procedure Person at risk Mode of Transmission

Collection of blood samples

Patient Health worker

Contaminated needle, gloves, Skin puncture by needle or

container,

Contamination of hands by blood

Transfer of specimens (within laboratory)

Laboratory personnel

• Contamination of exterior of specimen container, Broken container,

• Splash of specimen

HIV serology and virology

Laboratory personnel

• Skin puncture, splash of specimen,

• Broken specimen container, Perforated gloves

Cleaning and Maintenance

Laboratory Personnel Supporting staff

• Skin puncture or contamination, Splashes,

• Contaminated work surface

Waste DisposalLaboratory Personnel Support

StaffTransport worker

• Contact with contaminated waste

• Puncture wounds and cuts

Shipment of specimens

Transport workerPostal worker

• Broker or leaking specimen, containers and packages

3. Occupational health hazards -Occupational health concerns exist for janitorial and laundry workers, nurses, emergency medical personnel, and refuse workers. Injuries from sharps and exposure to harmful chemical waste and radioactive waste also cause health hazards to employees in institutions generating bio-medical waste.

4. Hazards to the general public -

The general public’s health can also be adversely affected by bio-medical waste. Improper practices such as dumping of bio-medical waste in municipal dustbins, open spaces, water bodies etc., leads to the spread of diseases. Plastic waste can choke animals, which scavenge on openly dumped waste. Injuries from sharps are common feature-affecting animals. Harmful chemicals such as dioxins and furans can cause serious health hazards to animals and birds.

5. Environmental hazards-1.Improper hospital waste management also results in

air, water and soil pollution, especially due to imperfect treatment and faulty disposal methods. Some of the effects of pollution are discussed below-

Air Pollution

Water Pollution

Radioactive effluent

Land Pollution