Biomedical waste management

Presented by: Mahusmita Naik

Sushruta Mohapatra
Itismita Biswal
Sandhya Sahoo
 Definition:
According to Biomedical Waste (Management and
Handling) Rules, 1998 of India “Any waste which is
generated during the diagnosis, treatment or
immunization of human beings or animals or in
research activities pertaining there to or in the
production or testing of bio medicals.
OR
According to WHO, the waste generated during the
diagnosis,testing, treatment, research or
production of biological products for humans or
animals.
 Importance of biomedical waste
management:
• To protect the environment .
• For the health & Safety of the Population.
 TYPE OF HOSPITAL WASTE
1. Non-hazardous waste:-
• Biodegradable
• Non- Biodegradable

2. Potentially infectious waste;- Dressings, swabs, laboratory

wastes, instruments used in patient care.

3. Potentially toxic waste:-

• Radioactive :- Radiotherapy/lab research liquids
Contaminated glass wares, packages, absorbent papers
• Chemical :- Lab reagents , Film developer, Expired
disinfectants, Expired solvents
• Pharmaceutical:- Expired Pharmaceuticals, Contaminated
Pharmaceuticals, Banned Pharmaceuticals
 SEGREGATION, TRANSPORTATION &
DISPOSAL OF BIO-MEDICAL WASTE
• No untreated bio-medical waste shall be mixed with
other wastes.
• The bio-medical waste shall be segregated into containers
or bags at the point of generation prior to its storage,
transportation, treatment and disposal.
• The containers or bags are according to the type of Bio-
medical waste.
• The operator of common bio-medical waste treatment
facility shall transport the bio-medical waste from the
premises of hospital to any off-site bio-medical waste
treatment facility only in the vehicles having label along
with necessary information of segregation of Bio-medical
waste
 Cont…
• The vehicles used for transportation of bio-
medical waste should be a covered trolly.
• It transport bio-medical waste usually at morning
6am & evening 4pm( especially when there is not
busy schedule)
• Microbiology waste and all other clinical
laboratory waste shall be pre-treated by
sterilisation or disinfection as per the World
Health Organisation guidelines before packing
and sending to the common bio-medical waste
treatment facility.
 cont….
• Untreated human anatomical waste, animal
anatomical waste, soiled waste and,
biotechnology waste shall not be stored
beyond a period of 48hrs.
 DECONTAMINATION OF BMW
• Decontamination is the process whereby microbial
contamination of a material is reduced to render it
safe to handle. There are two methods of achieving
this, disinfection and sterilisation, which are used in
hospitals.
• The combination of processes (including cleaning,
disinfection and sterilisation) used to render a re-
usable item safe for further use on patients and
handling by staff. Effective decontamination is
essential in reducing the risk of transmission of
infectious agents. In the decontamination process
soiled instruments are stored, inspected and if
necessary, disassembled.
 Disinfection
• It is the process of partial removal or destruction of
organisms except spores.

• Disinfection refers to a treatment that is designed

to reduce the potential infectivity of a material to a
level that effectively destroys its potential to cause
harm. It does not necessarily remove all viable
micro-organisms.

• Chemical disinfection should be used routinely for

decontamination of discarded liquid cultures,
possibly small amounts of solid material (e.g. small
sample tubes), surfaces and spillages.
 Types of disinfectants

• Aldehyde mainly gluteraldehyde

Formaldehyde ◦ should only be used for
fumigation of laboratories
• Alcohol
• Virkon is often the disinfectant of choice in
laboratories due to its wide spectrum of
activity and less hazardous properties
 Sterilization:
• It is the process used to render an object free
from all organisms including spores.
• Sterilisation is best practice for inactivating
biological waste and is defined as effectively
giving a 100% kill.
• The Sterile Processing Department (SPD), also
known as the Central Sterile Services
Department (CSSD), is the area in a hospital
where cleaning and sterilization of devices used
in medical procedures takes place.
 Process of sterilization:
• Soiled instruments from the operating
room are first taken to the
decontamination area to be cleaned of
gross soils and inspected for damage.
• The Instruments are first manually
cleaned. Depending on the device, they
may then go through an automated
washing process following manual
cleaning.
 Cont…
• Manual cleaning requires either a two-bay sink
or three-bay sink. In a three-sink method, each
bay plays a role in the cleaning process.
• Sink 1: Instruments are immersed in an
enzymatic solution to begin breaking down soils
• Sink 2: Instruments are immersed in a detergent
solution and manually brushed
• Sink 3: Instruments are thoroughly rinsed with
clean, treated water
 Methods of sterilization:
• Reliable sterilization depends on contact of the
sterilizing agent with all surfaces of the item to be
sterilized.
Steam
• Heat destroys microorganisms, but this process is
hastened by the addition of moisture.
• Pressure, greater than atmospheric, is necessary to
increase the temperature of steam for thermal
destruction of microbial life.
• Death by moist heat in the form of steam under
pressure is caused by the denaturation and coagulation
of protein or the enzyme-protein system within the
cells.
• Exposure time depends upon size and contents of load,
and temperature within the sterilizer.
 Ethylene Oxide

• Ethylene oxide is used to sterilize items that

are heat or moisture sensitive.
• Ethylene oxide (EO) is a chemical agent that
kills microorganisms, including spores, by
interfering with the normal metabolism of
protein and reproductive, processes,
resulting in death of cells.
 Dry heat
• Dry heat in the form of hot air is used
primarily to sterilize anhydrous oils,
petroleum products, and bulk powders that
steam and ethylene oxide gas cannot
penetrate.
• Death of microbial life by dry heat is a
physical oxidation or slow burning process of
coagulating the protein in cells.
 Formaldehyde gas
• Formaldehyde kills microorganisms by
coagulation of protein in cells.
• Used as a fumigant in gaseous form,
formaldehyde sterilization is complex and less
efficacious than other methods of sterilization.
 Microwaves
• The nonionizing radiation of microwaves
produces hyperthermic conditions that disrupt
life processes.
• This heating action affects water molecules and
interferes with cell membranes.
• Microwave sterilization uses low-pressure steam
with the nonionizing radiation to produce
localized heat that kills microorganisms.
 Hydrogen peroxide
• Hydrogen peroxide is activated to create a
reactive plasma or vapor.
• The plasma and vapor phases of hydrogen
peroxide are highly sporicidal even at low
concentrations and temperature.
Summary