Medical waste is biohazardous. It can cause injury and disease to living things, including humans and animals. That’s why a lot of governments have strict laws for medical facilities in managing and disposing medical waste to reduce the risk of injury to others.
Medical waste is any waste product generated from medical procedures and health care activities. It includes a broad range of items, from used bandages and syringes to gross body parts and blood to radioactive pellets used for cancer treatment – the list is almost never ending. It includes anything that is a by-product of any emergency treatment, diagnosing, rehabilitation and medical intervention of people and animals.
The good news is that many governments and private organizations offer services to manage and dispose medical waste properly and reduce risk of harm to people.
What makes medical waste dangerous?
Unlike domestic waste, medical waste is considered biohazardous because it is highly infectious and toxic in itself. If left untreated and allowed to contaminate the environment, medical waste can cause serious diseases and medical conditions to living things, including humans.
Medical waste often comes from procedures used in treating diseases, such as surgery, wound cleaning and items for medical devices. It also contains items which are inherently toxic, like expired drugs and laboratory chemicals. Some kinds of medical waste, like discarded sharps, can cause bodily injury too.
Domestic waste may also contain dangerous items, but not as much in comparison to medical waste.
Sources of medical waste are hospitals and medical facilities, diagnostic laboratories, veterinary and doctor’s office, and research labs. In a lesser degree, it is also generated from homes (e.g. people using medical devices) and farms (e.g. syringes used for injecting drugs, carcasses from diseased livestock).
Types of medical waste
Medical waste is further classified into several categories; each has its own degree of dangers. Each category is handled and managed separately from others. Here are the major categories of medical waste:
- Pathological waste – consists of gross parts, blood and tissues from animals and humans. Examples include dissected animals or cadavers, organs, bones and corneas and internal organs.
- Sharps – items which can puncture human and animal skin to cause injury and transmission of infectious diseases. Examples include needles, syringes and scalpels, broken laboratory glassware and other sharp items.
- Waste with trace chemo – medical waste used in procedures involving chemotherapy drugs, which are highly toxic to people. Examples include intravenous sets and packages used for the storing and administration of chemotherapy drugs.
- Pharmaceutical waste – waste generated from production, testing and use of drugs. It is often toxic and can drastically affect ecosystems when introduced in the environment. Examples include chemical by-products from drug factories, unused and expired drugs.
- Infectious waste – waste contaminated with infectious fluids like blood, microbe cultures and products from patients in isolation. Examples include used bloody bandages, culturing agents and hardware.
- Radioactive waste – a special type of medical waste with active ionizing radiation which can harm exposed cells and cause damage to DNA. Thus, it is always stored in specially-made containers. Examples include radiation pellet implants used in radioactive cancer treatment and radiation sources from decommissioned nuclear medical equipment.
Dangers of medical waste
Medical waste is very harmful to life and if released, can result in serious consequences. Disease-causing microbes, especially those found in infectious waste, can easily cause sickness to humans and animals. Unprotected exposure to medical waste can cause disease largely because it has items that came from sick people. The infectious diseases that people can get from medical waste are almost endless.
Radiation from radioactive waste presents a real hazard to anyone who doesn’t wear proper protection near its vicinity; full-fledged radiation can cause skin burns and irritation, damage to cells and radiation sickness i.e. symptoms include nausea and vomiting, blood anomalies due to drop in white blood cells and platelets, numerous infections and neurological deficits. It can also increase risk of having cancer in future.
Trace chemo in medical waste presents a special hazard to people. Drugs used in chemotherapy are highly toxic not just to cancer cells, but also to some normal cells in the body. Skin contact to chemotherapy agents can cause burns, blistering and pain to the affected area. If introduced inside the body, it can destroy rapidly-dividing cells like the hair follicles, intestinal lining and bone marrow. It can cause symptoms typical to those who are undergoing chemotherapy, like hair loss (or even baldness), digestive disturbances and sores in the mouth, bleeding tendencies and frequent infections due to impaired immune system. Exposure to certain chemo agents can also increase risk of having cancer in future.
Toxic chemicals from pharmaceuticals and heavy metals (like mercury) from medical waste can cause harm to organs like the brain, liver, kidneys and pancreas. Unused or expired medications are often toxic as well and can produce the same results. Certain chemicals used in medicine are highly teratogenic (harmful to developing fetus) and can cause genetic and birth defects, and miscarriage. It can also cause developmental problems to growing children as well.
Sharps can cause deep puncture injuries that may lead to bleeding or even organ perforation. Many items in sharps container are very sharp and can easily puncture soft tissues. In addition, sharps may transmit blood-borne diseases that can be very serious and debilitating, like HIV, hepatitis B and E, and malaria.
Who’s at risk and how to reduce harm
People who can be harmed by medical waste include those who work in proximity to it, like medical professionals such as doctors, nurses and lab technicians, as well as waste handlers and transporters. They are especially at risk because of the nature of their work.
People can reduce harm from medical waste by wearing proper protective equipment like full body gowns, double latex or nitrile gloves and face masks. For additional protection, some require eye goggles as well.
Practices to reduce harm include disposing medical waste into the proper container as soon as it is formed, using appropriate containers and proper storage.