Archive for: Hazardous Waste
Handling different types of lab waste
Chemical waste must be handled according to the manufacturer’s requirements on the material safety data sheets (MSDS). Hazardous chemical disposal is regulated through state and local governmental agencies. It is important to get proper authorization from these agencies to dispose of the chemicals and utilize licensed lab-packing companies to package and ship the chemical waste for proper disposal.
Regulated waste is placed in containers that are closable and constructed to contain all contents and to prevent fluids from leaking during handling, storage, transport, or shipping. The containers are labeled and closed before removal to prevent the contents from spilling or protruding during handling, storage, transport, or shipping. If outside contamination of the regulated waste container occurs, it is placed in a second container that has the same qualities as the first (e.g., closable, leak-proof) and is handled in the same manner.
Getting the lead out: Radiation aprons and hazardous waste
I found myself in an e-mail conversation recently about the disposal of lead radiation aprons and whether there is a hazardous waste or EPA aspect to this activity.
Slumdog needlesticks; no award for this performance
A little off the subject, but here’s a scene reminiscent of “Slumdog Millionaire,” however, the happy Bollywood-type ending is yet to be written, if ever.
Officials from the Bharuch regional office of Gujarat (India) Pollution Control Board are investigating a medical device scrap recovery operation where women and children eke out a living by winnowing contaminated needles and sharps “from the disposable filth,” according to the Times of India, March 3.
Going green by reducing the red
There is one initiative that healthcare facilities both large and small can implement and make a pretty significant impact on the environment.
Oh, and did we mention it could save you a little cash as well.
This month’s issue of Medical Environment Update features an article about greening your healthcare practice.
Even with EPA’s proposed pharmaceutical waste changes, state regulations still matter
Pharmaceutical waste, as they say in the industry, is a very sticky wicket. There is certainly a great deal of anticipation that the RCRA restrictions (nice alliteration, eh?) will be relaxed to a degree that is most favorable to healthcare facilities when it comes to this waste (see the free article posted on the Hospital Safety Connection for a brief rundown of what’s happening and happening and how to comment on the proposal, which the EPA will accept until March 4).
Plastic surgeon turns to liposuction fuel; gets good mileage per gallon of love handles
You’ve heard of living off the fat of the land. Well, one California doctor took that a step further, and has been living off the fat of his patients. Literally.
Dr. Craig Allan Bittner, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, began using the fat he removed from his patients during liposuction procedures to fuel his SUV and his girlfriend’s Lincoln Navigator,
Putting a lid on medical waste violations
How difficult is it to get the regulated medical waste (RMW) into a red bag, then to the licensed waste hauler, and disposed of according to state law? Apparently it isn’t as easy as you would think.
My Google search for regulated medical waste routinely digs up incidents where healthcare facilities appear to violate RMW laws. Though vastly different in circumstances, here are two examples that generated a dumpster full of problems.
A dentist, Thomas W. McFarland Jr., of Wynnewood, PA, was indicted for unlawful discharge of a pollutant and unlawful disposal of regulated medical waste, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 19. McFarland, who practices in Pennsylvania but owns a beach house in Township, NJ, allegedly took small motor boat to the Townsend Inlet and dumped syringes, swabs, and capsules of used filling material. (Didn’t Tony Soprano try this “disposal” method with the rat Sal Bonpensiero?)
What a waste
It’s probably safe to say that if you work in the medical field, you don’t want to see your name in the newspaper preceding the words “illegally dumping waste.”
To avoid being in that infamous headline, be sure to adhere to the most recent Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (formally NCCLS) guidelines which were last updated in 2002. You can expect further updates to be released in 2010, but in the meantime, it’s important to remember waste management is not limited to “red bag” waste, but includes hazardous, exhausts, water, solid waste and waste transportation.
