Clinical Waste Sacks
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Clinical waste or hazardous waste, is better defined as waste that contains hazardous properties that may prove harmful or dangerous to human health or the environment. Infectious waste is known as clinical waste and is produced mainly by health clinics, veterinary practices, doctors surgeries and hospitals. It can also be produced by nursing homes, residential homes, private households, or the collection of blood for transfusion, which may cause infection to any person who comes into contact with it.
The Hazardous Waste Regulations define infectious (H9) as, substances which contain viable micro-organisms or their toxins which are known or reliably believed to cause disease in man or other living organisms.
Harzardous or clinical waste is made partly/completely of :
- Excretions : Blood or other bodily fluids : Human or animal tissue : Swabs or dressings : Drugs/pharmaceutical products : Sharp instruments : Needles/syringes.
The removal and transportattion of these hazardous materials requires strict attention to rules and regulations.
Special Clinical waste sacks and containers that are purposely made, are required to carry out any waste management processes. These clinical waste sacks are usually yellow or orange and will have any nescessary statutory information pre-printed on them.
Waste bags/containers are colour coded :
- Yellow bags or containers are used for waste which requires disposal by incineration. Indicative treatment/disposal required is incineration in a suitably permitted or licensed facility.
- Orange bags or containers are used for waste which may be treated. Indicative treatment/disposal required is to be "rendered safe" in a suitably permitted or licensed facility, usually alternative treatment plants. However this waste may also be disposed of by incineration.
- Yellow with black stripe bags and containers are used for offensive/hygiene waste. Indicative treatment/disposal is landfill in a suitably permitted or licensed site. This waste should not be compacted in unlicensed/permitted facilities.
- Purple coloured bags are used for Cytotoxic and cytostatic waste. Indicative treatment/disposal required is incineration in a suitably permitted or licensed facility.
Clinical waste sacks are usually made of polythene, and are available in a range of different sizes. Polythene is a widely used plastic today, and is mainly used for packaging, with around eighty million metric tons being produced yearly. There are different types of polythene which are classified into several categories, and these range from ultra high molecular weight polythene (UHMWPE) down to very low density polythene (VLDPE).
About the Author
John Waight from Abbey Polythene writes about Clinical Waste Sacks. For more information about Clinical Waste Sacks visit www.abbeypolythene.co.uk
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