Medical Waste 2023

The American Hospital Association proposes that there are 951,045 staffed hospital beds in the United States every year. Therefore, according to Slate.com, it is estimated that it creates approximately 5.9 million tons of garbage annually—which could be even more since the hospitals surveyed already recycle or otherwise divert 10 percent of their waste. The World Health Organization estimates that there are more than 16 ...
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Medication Disposal Linked to the Opioid Epidemic in America

It is no secret that there is a vast ongoing opioid epidemic in America. The CDC claims that more than 932,000 people have died since 1999 from a drug overdose. Nearly 75% of drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid. Opioids are substances that work in the body's nervous system or in specific receptors in the brain to reduce pain intensity. According to the CDC, prescription opioids are often used to treat chronic and ...
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Safer Options For Your Injection Needles At Home

How to Dispose of Needles Safely at Home Millions of Americans each year take injections at home for diabetes, arthritis, migraines or a vast variety of other health conditions. This process can be challenging and is not a easy or painless task, but it can be lifesaving. Do to the increase of self injectors at home there is a increasing issue related to how to properly dispose of your sharps once those injections are ...
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What Waste Is This?

Step #1 For Proper Waste Management - Identify Waste identification is a crucial step in the waste management process. It's essential to identify and classify different types of waste so that they can be appropriately managed and disposed of by environmental regulations. This article will explain what waste identification is, why it's essential, and provide tips on accurately identifying different types of waste. The ...
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OSHA Best Practices for Healthcare Facilities

Healthcare facilities must be aware of their potential safety and health hazards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the primary regulatory agency responsible for setting and enforcing standards to protect workers in the United States. Operators including urgent care facilities should familiarize themselves with OSHA's requirements related to bloodborne pathogens, sharps safety, and workplace ...
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EPA Standards for Dental Amalgam Waste

Dental Effluent Guidelines Explained BACKGROUND The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have closely monitored and tested the effects of mercury and its use in the dental industry for many years. Since the early 1990s, these agencies have been researching the link between human and environmental health issues and mercury that ...
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Medsafe disposal, what you need to know

Pharmaceuticals are an essential part of our healthcare system, but they can also be a source of pollution if they are not disposed of properly. MedSafe is a pharmaceutical waste disposal system that helps to reduce this pollution. Medsafe – pharmaceutical waste disposal is a container that you can use to dispose of unwanted or expired medication. Once your MedSafe is complete, you can take it to a pharmaceutical waste ...
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How is medical waste causing environmental and public health concerns

Medical waste, often called healthcare-associated waste, refers to anything contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious materials. It can come from hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, nursing homes, and even households. While most medical waste is not hazardous, some can be dangerous to human health and the environment if not correctly disposed of. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), medical waste ...
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Growing new dangers of biohazardous waste in 2022

Biohazardous waste is any liquid, solid, or container containing infectious materials or potentially infectious substances. Infectious materials are anything with a pathogen, a microorganism that can cause disease in humans or animals. This type of waste can pose a severe health and safety risk to both people and the environment if it is not disposed of properly. Proper biohazardous waste disposal is critical to preventing ...
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Blood Borne Pathogen Training: Everything You Need to Know

Working with blood and other bodily fluids puts you at risk of contracting a bloodborne pathogen. Bloodborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms that can cause severe or life-threatening illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. The good news is that you can take steps to protect yourself from exposure to these dangerous pathogens. Taking a Blood Borne PathogenTraining course is one of the best ways to ...
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