Medical Hazardous Waste Disposal Methods

August 8, 2024
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Medical waste disposal poses a threat of infection if not done properly. Hence, it is a serious concern. Laboratory cultures and pathological wastes may contain contagious infectious agents. Sharps, such as injections, needles, scissors, etc., can be dangerous as they can inject infection directly into the bloodstream.

Hazardous and medical waste can sometimes overlap, meaning that hazardous waste may be medical waste or vice versa. Such medical, hazardous wastes contain highly toxic compounds like those used in chemotherapy. Hence, these waste types are subject to special treatment under federal law for the population’s safety.

Below, two methods are mentioned which should be used for dealing with such waste.

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1. Incineration

Incineration is the technique in which medical, hazardous waste is burnt. Three types of incinerators are used: controlled air, excess air, and rotary kiln. Out of these, a controlled air incinerator is the most widely used. They dominate the market today and are used in every medical facility, like hospitals and others.

2. Thermal Process

The process of destroying pathogens by the medium of heat is called a thermal process. These processes are low-heat, medium-heat, and high-heat thermal processes. Chemical and physical reactions take place at different temperatures in the thermal process. Hence, this subdivision based on heat is important.

Low-heat thermal processes use heat to decontaminate the waste at a temperature that does not cause a chemical breakdown of the substances present in the trash or cause combustion of those substances. The temperature at which the low-heat thermal process is carried out lies between 93 to 177 degrees Celsius (200 to 350 F).

Medium heat thermal processes are operated between 177 to 370 C (350 to 700 F). In this type of thermal process, organic waste’s chemical breakdown occurs. These processes are the basis for relatively new technologies.

High-heat thermal processes operate from 540 C to 8,300 C (1,000 F to 15,000 F). Electrical resistance, induction, natural gas, and plasma provide such a high amount of heat. This heat destroys the pathogens present in the medical, hazardous waste.

Waste, both medical and hazardous, is difficult to dispose of. Many service providers willing to accept and treat medical waste are unwilling to accept hazardous waste. Hazardous waste comes from medical treatments such as chemotherapy, body fluids, infected cell lining, etc. Since these contain infections, they should be disposed of carefully to ensure the pathogens’ absolute destruction. Otherwise, they can cause serious contamination.

A good medical waste company should be hired to care for such waste. City Disposal has provided such waste management services since 1987. It removes hazardous waste for warehouses, shipping companies, chemical wastes, labs, etc. It is based in New Jersey and has completed more than 6000 projects. For more information, check their website: https://citydisposalinc.com/.