Guidelines for the Disposal of Regulated Medical Waste
Laboratories operating at biosafety level 1 produce waste that can be decontaminated by autoclaving and disposed of in the regular trash.
Waste generated at biosafety level 2 and 3 are regarded as regulated medical waste (RMW). New York State generally defines RMW as a waste that is capable of transmitting disease to humans (please refer to the categories below). This waste is further defined as that generated in the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in production and testing of biologicals. Additionally, regulated medical waste cannot contain any hazardous chemical or radioactive waste components. The biological component must first be decontaminated and then treated as chemical or radioactive waste.
This document describes the different types of RMW along with their proper segregation, packaging, and disposal.
Categories of regulated medical waste include:>
Sharps:
· discarded used or unused needles (even if not exposed to any infectious agents), hypodermic needles, complete syringes (needle & syringe body)
· Pasteur pipettes, scalpel blades and razor blades in contact with infectious agents
· broken glass, broken plastic petri dishes, rigid plastic culture tubes, flasks, beakers and other labware in contact with infectious agents
· blood vials used in animal or human patient care, medical research, and clinical laboratories
· broken or unbroken glass slides and their covers that have been in contact with infectious agents
When only the barrel of a syringe unit is used (no attached needle) and it did not come in contact with infectious agents, chemical, or radioactive materials, it can be disposed of as solid waste, not RMW. However, syringe barrels must be collected in a sturdy fiberboard box that can be taped closed and that will not break open during normal handling. Syringe barrels should not be discarded freely in a trash container.
Cultures and Stocks:
· agents infectious to humans (those that require biosafety level 2 and 3 containment), including cultures and stocks from medical, pathological, or research laboratories, and their associated biologicals
· wastes from the production of biologicals (e.g., biologicals defined as serums, vaccines, antigens, antitoxins, cell lines, and cultures), as well as materials used for cleanup of spills
· discarded live or attenuated vaccines, biological toxins
· systems used to grow and maintain infectious agents in vitro, including, but not limited to nutrient agars, gels, and broths
· culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate or mix cultures, including, but not limited to: plastic or glass plates, paper, gloves, growth media, gels, filters, stoppers, plugs, flasks, inoculation loops and wires, contaminated pipette tips, tubes, stirring devices, jars, etc.
· cell lines- human, primate, and any other animal (mammalian) cell lines, even in the absence of overt contamination, may contain latent viruses and/or other opportunistic pathogens or zoonotic agents (capable of transmitting disease from animals to man). Therefore, these materials must be disposed of as RMW in New York State.
Human Blood, Blood Products, and Human Pathological Wastes:
· discarded waste blood and/or blood components (e.g., serum, plasma)
· containers and/or materials containing free-flowing blood or blood components, and materials saturated with blood or blood products
· tissue, organs, body parts, body fluids removed during autopsy, or other medical procedures
· specimens of body fluids and their containers and discarded material saturated with such body fluids (other than urine). Human body fluids include: blood, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, amniotic fluid, and any body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood.
Feminine hygiene products used to absorb menstrual flow, along with bandages and gauze, for example, are not RMW. Organs and tissues fixed for histological or cytological examinations must be processed as hazardous waste since the fixatives used are considered to be hazardous chemicals.
Animal Wastes:
· carcasses, body parts, body fluids, blood, or bedding from animals known to be contaminated with infectious agents (e.g., zoonotic organisms) or from animals inoculated during research, production of biologicals, or pharmaceutical testing with infectious agents.
Contamination with a known infectious agent is necessary before the waste is considered RMW.
Segregation and Packaging
All RMW must be segregated into the proper waste category, and into a properly labeled containment system at the point of generation. All biohazardous waste needs to be packaged, contained in a way that protects and prevents its accidental release to the environment at any time. Additionally, each bag or container must have a properly completed and attached medical waste tracking tag prior to pickup.
Sharps: Collected in approved rigid, leakproof, puncture-resistant containers that can be secured to prevent loss of contents. Each container must be prominently labeled with a universal biohazard sign or the word "Biohazard". Food containers (e.g., empty coffee cans) are not permissible as sharps containers. Appropriate containers are available through Cornell Distribution Center Sales, as well as various scientific supply companies. Needles and syringe units should be discarded as a unit without clipping, bending, breaking, shearing, or recapping (sharps boxes that clip off the needle are prohibited). Sharps containers should be discarded when they are ¾ full.
Cultures: These wastes can be placed in red biohazard bags or, if liquid cultures, chemically decontaminated (see section on liquid waste).
Solid waste: Items such as cloth, gloves, plastic, and paper items that have been exposed to agents infectious or hazardous to humans or animals shall be placed in red biohazard bags.
Liquid waste: Liquid wastes that contain infectious agents (e.g., culture media, blood, body fluids), can be disposed of in a sanitary sewer, after chemical decontamination. Waste should be treated with a 10-fold dilution of household bleach (i.e., 9 parts liquid waste plus 1 part household bleach) for 10-15 min before discharging down the drain. Alternatively, the waste can be placed in a container and autoclaved, and then discarded in the sanitary sewer.
Animal: Small and medium-sized animal carcasses (e.g., mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs, etc.) should be placed into plastic bags, or if contaminated with infectious agents, in red biohazard bags. For large animals or large animal parts call the Biosafety Officer (4-4888 or 5-8200) for specific packaging instructions for disposal. Infected bedding should be placed in red biohazard bags. Animal carcasses and parts must be refrigerated or frozen, if they are not disposed of immediately, to delay putrefaction.
Disposal
Regulations from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health direct the treatment and disposal of RMW. Although RMW in New York State can be treated by incineration or autoclaving, waste on the Cornell University campus is handled through the Veterinary School RMW management system (liquid wastes can be treated and disposed of in the sanitary sewer). This system includes:
- collecting biohazardous waste, as defined above, in red biohazard bags or approved sharps containers (red bag waste can be autoclaved to reduce the biological load, but the bags must not enter the solid waste stream).
- transportation of bags and containers, by Environmental Health & Safety personnel, to Schurman Hall, where the waste is repackaged in secondary containers.
- shipment off-site by a licensed hauler of RMW (Envirotech of America, Inc.) to Syracuse, NY for final treatment and disposal.
- animal carcasses (pathological wastes) are either destroyed by incineration or are shipped off as RMW.
In an effort to assist waste generators, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) supervises a program to manage RMW produced on the Cornell University campus. Personnel from EHS pick up properly packaged and tagged waste and transport it to Schurman Hall for packaging and shipment offsite, at no cost to the individual laboratories.
To ensure the safety of the personnel handling and packaging the waste, each generator is requested to register their laboratory by completing a Biohazard Identification Form. This form specifies the type of biohazards generated in the laboratory along with the necessary actions needed to comply with state and federal regulations and to guarantee safe handling of the waste. Contact the Biosafety Office of Environmental Health & Safety at 5-8200 to request a Biohazard Identification Form, or to obtain more information.
Last Updated : 01.16.01