Liquid medical waste disposal in hospitals: how to proceed with materials contaminated by blood? The benefits of on-site treatment
22-02-2022
The disposal of liquid medical waste like blood is just as much of an issue in hospitals as the removal of other types of waste. How should it be stored? What should hospitals avoid doing at all costs?
In Celitron’s next article, we will answer all these questions as well as discuss how hospitals can treat medical waste on-site with our disposal solution!
What can be considered liquid medical waste that hospitals need to dispose of?
Hospitals have to deal with the disposal of a wide variety of liquid medical waste. Here are some notable examples of liquid waste that hospitals can encounter daily:
- Blood and blood by-products
- Bodily secretions and fluids
- Saliva (especially in dental clinics)
- Dialysis waste
- Spinal fluids
IMPORTANT: any item that has been contaminated with liquid medical waste like blood and bodily fluids (gauze, PPE, swabs, bandages, any material used to clean up spills) will also fall under this category since they can release these materials in a liquid or semi-liquid state when compressed!
What should a hospital do with liquid medical waste like blood? What are the disposal requirements?
Due to its infectious nature and the severity of the fines in case of improper management, make sure to always look up in detail the disposal requirements of liquid hospital waste!
Still, the main rules about medical waste disposal, in general, can also be applied here: establish the collection process where the waste is generated to make waste management easier to handle. Liquid medical waste can easily spill, and blood and bodily fluids can be highly infectious, and contaminated by pathogens and viruses: medical staff need to take special care when collecting it. Wearing appropriate protective equipment is a must.
Medical waste is usually collected and segregated into leak-proof containers before disposal can occur (always check the packaging regulations that apply to your state or country).
What a hospital should NOT do when disposing of liquid medical waste
The main thing to remember about handling the disposal of liquid hospital waste is to NEVER simply pour it down the drain. It’s not just an environmental issue: this can endanger the safety of medical staff. When potentially hazardous liquids are poured, aerosolization and splashing can put staff at risk when coming into contact with biological pathogens, which can then spread further to other people.
Liquid medical waste disposal in hospitals with Celitron’s on-site Integrated Sterilizer and Shredder: how does it treat materials contaminated by blood and bodily fluids?
The issue of liquid medical waste disposal in hospitals is much easier to handle if you already have the right equipment to treat waste contaminated by blood and bodily fluids on-site. Celitron has created its own patented technology to provide medical facilities with a highly effective and practical machine that combines the accurate and trustworthy operation of autoclaves with the sheer power of a medical waste shredder.
All this within one single vessel: this is Celitron’s ISS (Integrated Sterilizer and Shredder).
The liquid components of hospital waste are steamed out of the vessel, re-condensed, and then all drained to a municipal sewer. As the medical waste is dehydrated, there is absolutely no risk of contaminated wastewater in the hospital.
The waste is rendered and fragmented with the help of powerful shredding and crushing blades that can rotate in two directions. Since the temperature of the steam produced is well over 100 degrees Celsius, the “end-product” that comes out of the ISS is free from all toxic and infectious material. No foreign material can survive this steam sterilization process.
The rendered waste is largely solid in addition to being dry. Since the liquid components of the hospital waste have already been drained, disposal can now be handled just like municipal waste.
What kind of materials SHOULD NOT be put into Celitron’s liquid hospital waste disposal system?
- Chemical waste like disinfectants etc.
- Pathological waste: identifiable human body parts
- Radioactive waste, e.g. any material used during radiotherapy
- Genotoxic waste: very hazardous waste such as cytotoxic medicines used for the treatment of cancer
- Pharmaceuticals: unused, contaminated, or expired medicines (including vaccines and serums)
- Oversized metal objects like scissors and mercury thermometers (only small metal parts like needles can be treated in the ISS)
Why should I use Celitron’s ISS for the disposal of medical waste contaminated by liquids like blood?
Draining liquid hospital waste and shredding allows the steam to penetrate the load inside the ISS much more effectively compared to other on-site treatment solutions like regular autoclaves. This is especially important in the caste of hazardous medical waste that must be rendered into an unrecognizable state, such as medical sharps, bandages, swabs, disposable medical instruments (like the metal blade of disposable scalpels),cultures and stocks of infectious agents.
The ISS can handle the disposal of liquid hospital waste such as medical waste contaminated with blood/blood by-products, discarded diagnostic samples containing blood and body fluids, lab cultures and specimens, and can also be used for dialysis waste disposal.
Compared to other hospital waste disposal methods like incinerators, Celitron’s ISS also has lower operational costs due to using less energy and it also emits zero harmful substances. It is easy to install and incorporate into your hospital waste management system and can handle the disposal of your liquid medical waste in under 35 minutes depending on the load inside the machine.
All in all, if you’re looking for a method that is in line with EU and WHO recommendations and can help you take care of liquid medical waste disposal right at the site of your hospital, then you will surely be pleased with the performance of Celitron’s ISS at treating materials contaminated by blood and bodily fluids.
To learn more about the specifications of the Integrated Sterilizer and Shredder, JUST CLICK ON THIS LINK, but the Celitron team is also always ready to answer any questions you may have and offer you a personalized quote suited to the needs of your facility.
So do not hesitate to CONTACT THE CELITRON TEAM!