Unless appropriately managed, medical waste can pose many health risks to healthcare personnel, garbage workers, and the general public. If needles are unintentionally transported to recycling facilities or containers burst open during transit, we may be exposed to needle sticks and infection. Sharps that escape through plastic bags endanger housekeepers and janitors as well.
Hazardous waste can expose us to microbes, radiation burns, poisoning, pollution, and other hazards. Finally, badly handled trash dumped in landfills can harm drinking water and the environment.
Who Generates Medical Waste?
Medical waste may originate from any medical or biological activity or source. For example, the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of several diseases can generate both non-hazardous and hazardous waste. "Between 75% and 90% of the garbage produced by health-care providers is comparable to home waste and is commonly dubbed "nonhazardous" or "generic health-care waste." It primarily comes from administrative, kitchen, and housekeeping duties of health-care institutions, although it may also include packaging trash and garbage generated during building maintenance. The remaining 10%-25% of health-care waste is classified as "hazardous" and may pose a number of environmental and health problems.
It is dangerous to presume that while hazardous waste does not constitute the majority of all healthcare waste, it is inconsequential. This could not be further from the truth! When you examine the quantity of overall medical waste generated each year by hospitals and labs alone around 5 million tons per year, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges you realize how much dangerous medical waste exists.
Why Is Medical Waste a Problem?
It's tough to identify the most dangerous aspect of medical waste. For starters, the environmental impact of medical waste is astonishing when you consider how much waste is generated each year. However, the nature of hazardous waste is what makes it a public health concern.
For example, if sharps are disposed of inappropriately, they might hurt housekeepers and cleaning staff, thereby transmitting dangerous diseases. Similarly, incineration of other types of medical waste, such as pathological waste, might transmit disease and contaminate the atmosphere.
Who Is Responsible For The Regulation of Medical Waste?
Clearly, the dangers of medical waste create a variety of complications and potential difficulties. Fortunately, there is no shortage of medical waste regulations. In the late 1980s, the EPA and the federal government oversaw the trash. Several state entities then issued regulations. State health authorities and environmental programs have information on who is in charge of healthcare waste in each state. Several government agencies have legislation governing medical waste. This includes:
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- The Center for Disease Control (CDC)
- The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- The department of transportation (DOT)
- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA
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