Infectious Waste Management

This is the second edition of the WHO handbook on the safe, sustainable and affordable management of health-care waste--commonly known as "the Blue Book". The original Blue Book was a comprehensive publication used widely in health-care centers and government agencies to assist in the adoption of national guidance. It also provided support to committed medical directors and managers to make improvements and presented practical information on waste-management techniques for medical staff and waste workers. It has been more than ten years since the first edition of the Blue Book. During the intervening period, the requirements on generators of health-care wastes have evolved and new methods have become available. Consequently, WHO recognized that it was an appropriate time to update the original text. The purpose of the second edition is to expand and update the practical information in the original Blue Book. The new Blue Book is designed to continue to be a source of impartial health-care information and guidance on safe waste-management practices. The editors' intention has been to keep the best of the original publication and supplement it with the latest relevant information. The audience for the Blue Book has expanded. Initially, the publication was intended for those directly involved in the creation and handling of health-care wastes: medical staff, health-care facility directors, ancillary health workers, infection-control officers and waste workers. This is no longer the situation. A wider range of people and organizations now have an active interest in the safe management of health-care wastes: regulators, policy-makers, development organizations, voluntary groups, environmental bodies, environmental health practitioners, advisers, researchers and students. They should also find the new Blue Book of benefit to their activities. Chapters 2 and 3 explain the various types of waste produced from health-care facilities, their typical characteristics and the hazards these wastes pose to patients, staff and the general environment. Chapters 4 and 5 introduce the guiding regulatory principles for developing local or national approaches to tackling health-care waste management and transposing these into practical plans for regions and individual health-care facilities. Specific methods and technologies are described for waste minimization, segregation and treatment of health-care wastes in Chapters 6, 7 and 8. These chapters introduce the basic features of each technology and the operational and environmental characteristics required to be achieved, followed by information on the potential advantages and disadvantages of each system. To reflect concerns about the difficulties of handling health-care wastewaters, Chapter 9 is an expanded chapter with new guidance on the various sources of wastewater and wastewater treatment options for places not connected to central sewerage systems. Further chapters address issues on economics (Chapter 10), occupational safety (Chapter 11), hygiene and infection control (Chapter 12), and staff training and public awareness (Chapter 13). A wider range of information has been incorporated into this edition of the Blue Book, with the addition of two new chapters on health-care waste management in emergencies (Chapter 14) and an overview of the emerging issues of pandemics, drug-resistant pathogens, climate change and technology advances in medical techniques that will have to be accommodated by health-care waste systems in the future (Chapter 15).

Biosafety in the Laboratory is a concise set of practical guidelines for handling and disposing of biohazardous material. The consensus of top experts in laboratory safety, this volume provides the information needed for immediate improvement of safety practices. It discusses high- and low-risk biological agents (including the highest-risk materials handled in labs today), presents the "seven basic rules of biosafety," addresses special issues such as the shipping of dangerous materials, covers waste disposal in detail, offers a checklist for administering laboratory safetyâ€"and more.

Everyday, thousands of hospitals around the country produce thousands of tons of infectious waste. The disposal of this waste is considered one of America's primary environmental problems. Drawing on the author's 20 years of experience as an administrator, department director, and staff consultant, Infectious Waste Management offers an insider's approach to medical waste management. This reference includes information on how to manage medical waste practically. It gives simple, effective procedures on how to a establish or revitalize a waste management program. Written in a friendly, understandable style, the book covers everything from working with administration to provide necessary resources to getting employees to work effectively. It describes cost-containing guidelines and establishing regulatory compliance. This invaluable guide discusses proper department procedures and methods to monitor systems. The book contains "education modules" or short education tools which can be used to convey important task-oriented information to staff. The book is divided into three sections according to the intended audience. Text in the first section is directed toward hospital administrators and members of the infection control and safety committees. The second is primarily for department directors and focuses on writing infectious waste management procedures for the departments of environmental services and maintenance. This section also addresses the essential functions of program monitoring and waste tracking or manifesting. The third part is for people responsible for educating staff. Together, these sections present an effective, full-staff approach to infectious waste management. The book has a number of appendices, which restate important points made throughout the book and provide sample policies, procedures, letters, memos, reference cards, and other management or education tools that will prove helpful.

Cover -- Half title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Preface -- Acknowledgment -- Contents -- SECTION I: INTRODUCTION -- 1. The Search for a Successful Waste Management Strategy -- 2. Regulations and Standards for Infectious and Medical Waste Management -- SECTION II: INFECTIOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT -- 3. Identification of Infectious Waste -- 4. Handling, Storage, and Transport of Infectious Waste -- 5. Treatment Considerations and Options -- 6. Steam Sterilization of Infectious Waste -- 7. Incineration of Infectious Waste -- 8. Other Treatment Technologies -- 9. Disposal of Treated Waste -- 10. Minimizing Infectious Waste -- SECTION Ill: MANAGEMENT OF OTHER MEDICAL WASTE -- 11. Antineoplastic Drugs and Other Chemical Wastes -- 12. Managing Low-Level Radioactive Waste -- 13. Wastes with Multiple Hazards -- SECTION IV: KEEPING YOUR SYSTEM GOING -- 14. Occupational Safety for Waste Management -- 15. Preparing for Hazardous Material Emergencies -- 16. Training Staff and Waste Handlers -- 17. Completing the Process: Essential Components of Effective Waste Management -- APPENDICES -- Appendix A: A Guide to the Medical Waste Tracking Regulations -- Appendix B: U.S. EPA and State Hazardous Waste Contacts -- Appendix C: Infectious Waste Management Audit -- Index

This complete guide to infectious and medical waste management is required reading for everyone who handles, treats, transports, disposes of, or is responsible for this waste. Until now, no book has been written that explains in detail how to safely comply with the complex regulations and how to set up an effective infectious and medical waste program (including AIDS and Hepatitis B viruses) so the right decisions can be made. This valuable book gives you the expertise of the authors' combined 30 years' experience with this vital topic. Organized and presented in a clear, concise style-complete and practical-Infectious and Medical Waste Management covers every major and minor topic in this field: Medical Waste, Infectious Waste, Chemical Waste, and Radioactive Waste-everything you need to know is thoroughly covered. Presents waste audit plan organized by: collection, containers, spills, storage and processing, transportation, treatment, disposal, personnel and management.