Just to clarify-I was assuming that the Sharps are autoclaved in Sharps containers and I was under the impression that this is not a problem in the regular trash.....and sewerage authority or not, I don't think we should be disposing of drugs any longer into the water waste streams. Regards, Jane At 8:35 AM -0400 8/26/09, Hadden, Susan [PRDUS] wrote: >Pat, Here is what our environmental engineer had to say about your questions. > >He can NEVER dispose the needles or any of these things in regular >trash. If he can separate our some of the debris, (i.e. gloves, lab >coats) he may be able to go with someone like SDS (Specialty >Disposal Services) and do a waste characterization on the material >to determine if it is, indeed, medical waste. Going w/ SDS on some >of the streams may save him a little money. He will have to use >Stericycle or equivalent for needles and other true med wastes. The >10% bleach w/ product is fine, provided that the sewerage authority >is ok with this stuff going to drain. > >It's very expensive, but it is the only way of handling these >materials. It may be beneficial to find a different licensed med >waste hauler as a lot of folks complain about Stericycle's pricing. > >I hope this helps. > > >-----Original Message----- >From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**list.uvm.edu] On >Behalf Of Patricia Peifer >Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:22 PM >To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU >Subject: [DCHAS-L] BBP Waste Issues > >I currently work at a company which occasionally gets involved in testing >on drug products which are derived from human blood. We give all our lab >employees Bloodborne Pathogen training and offer the the Hep B vaccination >and essentially try to follow all the requirements of the BBP Standard. >These drug products have been tested and are certified to be pathogen-free, >but of course, there is always to remote possibility that they may not be, >so our employees are to use the Universal Precautions when working with >these blood-derived drugs. > >I have been using Stericycle to get rid of our waste which consists of >sharps and contaminated gowns, gloves, kim wipes, etc. I could not find >anyone who would take leftover drug product for disposal, but a reliable >source told me to add 10% bleach to it, let stand for 30 minutes, then >dispose of down the drain. > >Here's what I'm wondering... We are definately a small-scale generator of >this type of waste ( the sharps and contaminated gowns, gloves, kim wipes, >etc.) The Stericycle service is expensive and inconvenient. Is anyone >else autoclaving this type of waste (apparently the red bags and red sharps >containers are autoclavable) then placing the autoclaved waste into a >regular trash bag and disposing in the regular trash, or for sharps, >labeling for disposal as non-hazardous sharps after autoclaving? > >Thanks for any advice anyone can offer. > >Pat Peifer >Project Manager, Safety & Training >West Pharmaceutical Services >101 Gordon Drive >Lionville, PA 19341 >Phone:(610) 594-3278 >Fax: (610) 594-3005
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