9. healthcare Waste Management

Health Care Wastes

Solid or liquid wastes generated by health care facilities from activities related to diagnosis, treatment, research, and other health care services.

Health Care Waste Generators

Any health care facilities, institutions, or establishments that produce health care wastes during their operations.

Infectious Wastes

Wastes suspected to contain pathogens that can cause disease, including materials used for diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases.

Infectious waste

Discarded Microbial cultures, Sputum cups, urine containers, Blood bags; And any secretions coming from patients with the infectious disease.

Pathological and Anatomical Wastes

Tissues and body fluids derived from biopsies, autopsies, or surgical procedures sent to the lab for examination.

pathological and anatomical waste

examples include internal organs and tissues used for Histopathology examination

Anatomical waste

A sub group of Pathological ways that refers to recognizable body parts usually from amputation procedures

Sharps

Waste items that can cause cuts, pricks, or puncture wounds, considered highly dangerous due to injury/infection potential.

Chemical Wastes

Hazardous chemical wastes that are toxic, corrosive, flammable, or reactive.

acid pH 2.0 and below, bases of pH 12 and above

it is considered corrosive if?

flash point below 60 degrees celcius

it is considered flammable if?

acids

Acetic, chromic, hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric

alcohols

Ethanol, isopropanol, phenols

Aldehydes

Formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, ortho-phthalaldehyde

Bases

Ammonium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, sodium bicarbonate

Halogenated disinfectants

Calcium hypochlorite, calcium dioxide, iodine solutions, iodophors, sodium hypochlorite (bleach)

Halogenated solvents

Chloroform, methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, refrigerants, trichloroethylene

Metals

Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, silver

Non-halogenated solvents

Acetone, acetonitrile, ethanol, ethyl acetate, formaldehyde,

isopropanol, methanol, toluene, xylenes

Oxidizers

Hydrogen peroxide, potassium dichromate, potassium permanganate

Reducers

Sodium bisulfite, sodium sulfite

Miscellaneous

Anesthetic gases, asbestos, ethylene oxide, herbicides, paints, pesticides, waste oils

Pharmaceutical Wastes

Expired, split, or contaminated pharmaceutical products, drugs, and vaccines, including materials used in handling them.

pharmaceutical wastes

includes anti-neoplastic, cytotoxic and genitoxic wastes such as drugs use in oncology or radiotherapy and biological fluid from patients treated with the said drugs

Non-Hazardous or General Wastes

Wastes that have not been in contact with infectious agents or hazardous substances and do not pose a hazard.

Impact of Health Care Wastes

Health care wastes can pose risks like injuries, toxic exposure, air pollution, and radiation burns, affecting individuals and the environment.

Republic Act No. 4226 “Hospital Licensure Act” (1965)

Mandates the registration and licensure of hospitals in the country.

Republic Act No. 4226 “Hospital Licensure Act” (1965)

mandates the DOH to provide guidelines for hospitals technical standards as to personnel, equipment and physical facilities.

Republic Act No. 6969 “ An act control substances, and hazardous and nuclear waste” (1990)

An act to control hazardous and nuclear wastes, requiring proper waste management by generators.

Republic Act No. 8749 “The Philippine Clean Air Act” (1999)

prohibits incineration of biomedical wastes and promotes environmentally-sound disposal methods.

Republic Act No. 8749 “The Philippine Clean Air Act” (1999)

it promotes use of state of the art environmentally sound, and safe, non-burn technologies for the handling treatment, thermal destruction, utilization, and disposal of sorted under cycled biomedical and hazardous waste. effective on July 17, 2003.

RA 9003 “Ecological Solid Watse Management Act” (2000)

segregation of solid waste at the sources, including household and institution hospital by using a separate container for each type of wastes.

RA 9275 “The Philippine Clean Water Act” (2004)

pursues a policy of economic growth in a manner consistent with the protection, preservation and revival of the quality of the countries fresh brackish, and marine waters

Color-Coding for Waste Bins

A system used in health care facilities to distinguish types of waste by color: black for non-infectious dry, green for wet, yellow for infectious, etc.

Black

noninfectious dry wastes

Green

non-infectious wet waste

Yellow

Infectious and pathological waste

Yellow with a black band

Chemical wastes

Orange

Radioactive waste

Red

sharps and pressurized containers

Pyrolysis

thermal decomposition of healthcare was in the absence of supplied molecular oxygen in the destruction chamber where the sand was is converted to liquid or solid form

Autoclave

A method using steam sterilization to render health care waste harmless, typically at 121°C and 15 psi for a set time.

microwave

incorporates some style of size reduction device shredding of wastes done before disinfection waste is exposed to microwaves that raise the temperature to 100°C at least 30 minutes.

Chemical Disinfection

The process of adding chemicals like sodium hypochlorite to inactivate pathogens in health care waste.

biological process

Uses an enzyme mixture to the contaminate healthcare wastes. The resulting by-product is put through an extruder to remove water for waste water disposal.

biological process

The technology is suited for large application and is also being developed for possible use in the agricultural sector

Inertization

A method for the disposal of pharmaceutical waste by mixing with cement or other substances before landfill. The process is relatively inexpensive and can be performed using relatively unsophisticated equipment.

encapsulation