Treating the Medical Waste Accurately

Biohazardous waste is the most dangerous type of waste that is very necessary to be disposed of as early as possible and treated the right way. Neglecting its disposal and treatment methods can severely harm the environment and all of its bio life.

However, before disposing of the medical waste properly, you should be well aware of the type of biohazardous wastes and their appropriate segregation. Biohazardous waste is any medical waste that carries prospective infectious pathogens or bacterias that can harm the environment and the bio life critically. Most medical wastes, like those created while doing a diagnostic process or vaccination process, etc., are biohazardous waste and need to be sincerely segregated and treated for proper disposal.

Once the medical waste is properly segregated it needs to be disposed of properly using different medical waste disposal services. Non-hazardous medical waste is segregated from the biohazardous waste before disposal. If in case the non-hazardous waste gets mixed with hazardous waste, it should be treated accordingly.

Proper segregation is also required for Sharps. They should be disposed of separately in puncture and tamper-proof containers that are mostly made of metal or heavy density plastic. They also must not be filled to the top so as to avoid any kind of spill or prick or container damage.

Even the expired pharmaceuticals generate a large quantity of waste with a good amount of expired medicines. These obsolete and expired medicines can be sent back to pharmaceutical companies for proper disposal. The leaked or contaminated drugs or pills should be disposed of in containers separated from biohazard waste and labeled accordingly.

The separated containers should be properly labeled with correct and complete information like the type of waste, the quantity of the waste, the organization’s name that generated the waste, the appropriate label for the waste, etc. All the biohazardous waste needs to be kept separated from the nonhazardous waste and should also be treated separately and accordingly.

The Correct Treatment

Proper treatment of medical waste disposal is extremely crucial to protect the environment and the bio-life from its harmful effects. The treatment is executed by the companies that provide medical waste disposal services, registered with the local regulating authorities. If in case the treatment is not executed efficiently, it will have detrimental effects on the environment and the bio-life.

The most common method of treatment is the Incineration method. In this method, biohazard waste is exposed to high temperatures killing the bacteria, pathogens, and viruses present in it. The waste gets converted into ash and gases, which again is disinfected before releasing into the environment. Incineration is usually conducted in a proper Incineration Plant. However, before incinerating the waste, it should be first verified if the materials are fit for the incineration process as if the unfit materials are incinerated, they generate pollutants damaging the environment.

Another medical waste treatment method is Autoclaving. In this method, a highly pressurized steam-heated chamber is used, called an Autoclave, to sterilize the biomedical waste. Items like plastics can be easily sterilized by autoclaving and then melted to make sure that they are completely abacterial and germ-free. This melted form can then be used to create other new products.

Then comes one more process, known as Bleaching, where some chemicals come in contact with the chemicals in the medical waste, initiating a chemical reaction that results in the generation or reduction of electrons in the waste, eventually making it harmless for the environment.

Last but not the least, is the process commonly called bio-cremation or Alkaline Hydrolysis. This is an alternative to burial or cremation services that helps in the reduction of carbon dioxide and pollutants from the body that had been considered harmful from a medical perspective.

Final Consideration

The medical waste consists of different types of non-hazardous and hazardous wastes that can affect the environment severely. Hence, it is always recommended that any biohazardous waste should be treated accordingly to protect the environment. Once the medical waste is segregated properly according to its nature, it should be disposed of correctly by contacting companies that provide medical waste disposal services.

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Onsitewaste Technologies Joined: August 29th, 2020