A disposable syringe is an essential attribute of any health care facility. Used syringes contain residues of medicines, blood, biomaterials of sick patients, and therefore can be contageous and dangerous. Products belong to the category of medical waste of class C (epidemiologically hazardous, including any used syringe, due to the possible carriage of infection) and class B (extremely epidemiologically hazardous, used for patients with certain diagnoses). Since this waste isn’t treated like any other waste and must be disposed of following certain regulations and procedure, this taks is trusted to the professional medical waste disposal services which take care of this hazardous type of waste.
The procedure for handling syringes is regulated by regulatory documents. In order to prevent infection of medical workers and prevent the spread of infections, it is necessary to disinfect and dispose of syringes in a particular way. In this article, we will talk about how the disposal and processing of single-use syringes is carried out.
Medical waste disposal services deal withdisposable syringes according to the following procedure:
collection of waste products inside medical institutions;
disinfection;
movement of used syringes from departments;
storage of used syringes;
transportation of used medical tools from the territory where waste is generated;
disposal of syringes.
Algorithm for disposal by medical waste disposal services:
Let’s talk about the algorithm for the disposal of syringes and needles by medical waste disposal services. The treatment of waste of used injection syringes of classes B and C includes collection, decontamination, transportation and storage.
Madical waste collection rules
It is permissible to fill disposable containers for needles within three days from the start of accumulation. Used disposable syringes are collected in single-use soft bags.
Collection bags must be secured to carts or containers. The needles, separated from the syringe barrels, are placed in a rigid yellow container (for class B residues) or red (C) with a tight-fitting lid that prevents spontaneous opening.
Packages or containers may also be color-coded, for example, yellow for class B syringes, red for class C.
Decontamination
Waste made up of single-use syringes, both class B and C, must be decontaminated. The choice of methods is determined in accordance with rules.
The main methods of decontamination are chemical and physical.
The chemical method involves disinfection of syringes and needles are filled with a pre-prepared disinfectant solution. A needle remover is usually used to disinfect needles.
The physical or hardware method of disinfection consists in influencing the medical waste by water saturated steam and radiation (electromagnetic or radiation).
Transportation of waste syringes of classes B or C to the disposal site should be carried out by closed-body vehicles used only for this purpose.
Destruction of waste of disposable syringes of classes B and C can be carried out by medical waste disposal services in a decentralized way using incinerators (furnaces with a high temperature regime).
Preference is given to the incineration of waste medical syringes in pyrolysis furnaces, or burning in plasma furnaces which allows destroying syringe needles.
Also, combined technologies for the destruction of medical waste are used, which are a combination of mechanical (grinding syringes) and chemical (disinfection) methods.
Destruction and disposal of waste of disposable medical syringes belonging to classes B and C is an urgent task. The correct approach to the disposal of used syringes will avoid a negative impact on human health.
