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Information |
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Alternative Treatment Products Definition of Infectious Medical Waste |
Minimization Information
The West Virginia Infectious Medical Waste program places a great deal of emphasis on proper classification of Infectious Medical Waste and the minimization of over-classification of solid waste as infectious.
There are many reasons that health care facilities need to reduce the amount of Infectious Medical Waste they generate:- When large volumes of plastics, common in medical waste, are incinerated there is increased potential for atmospheric release of carcinogenic agents if incinerators are not operated properly.
- Increased medical waste generation also increases the potential for costly accidents and spills due to the increased numbers of vehicles required to haul the waste.
- Another reason is to keep disposal costs as low as possible.
The following are items commonly found is biohazard collection containers.
These items are solid waste over-classified as Infectious Medical Waste.
| - Gloves |
| - Medicine vials (excluding vaccine vials or ampoules) |
| - I.V. bags and tubing with no visible blood |
| - Paper towels and exam table paper |
| - Procedure setup trays |
| - 24 hour urine tests and specimen containers with no visible blood |
| - Foley bags and associated tubing |
| - Chucks and diapers soiled with urine or feces |
| - Bedpans and urinals |
| - Gauze and cotton balls with little blood |
| - Isolation
wastes (MRSA and other contact isolations) from patients who do not have a disease cause by a viral agent classified by the CDC as Class 4.
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