Trash or Threat? Hazardous Waste (DACP 112 W2L3)

OSHA's suggested colors to use in various hazardous situations

OSHA Safety Colors

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What is a biohazard bag, and what should we use it for?

Biohazard Bags

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Click each to learn about

What are sharps, and what are the requirements for a sharps container?

sharps Container

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HAZARDOUS WASTE

OSHA's SAFETY COLORS

Red

Danger

Hover over each painter's pallet to learn about the colors. After reading each, click the home button to return to the main menu.

Warning

orange

Caution

Yellow

red-orange

biohazards

Sharps Container

What exactly are sharps? In the medical field, the term “sharps” refers to sharp objects such as needles, syringes, scalpels, lancets, surgical blades, IV catheters, suture needles, and some dental instruments. These items come in contact with body fluids and are placed in a sharps container immediately after use. Sometimes, sharps are reusable, such as surgical instruments, but they must be decontaminated and sterilized. In these cases, we will still place the sharp directly into the sharps container for transport to the decontamination and sterilization facility. OSHA’s guidelines are there to protect all employees from exposure to blood and other potentially infections materials (OPIM), those discarding and those receiving sharps for processing.

A sharps container must meet OSHA requirements:

• Closeable (have a lid)
• Puncture resistant
• Leakproof on the sides and bottom
• Remain in an upright position, with no danger of being knocked over
• Labeled or color-coded for biohazard materials

Biohazard Bags

We use Biohazard Bags to collect various types of non-sharp medical waste, including blood, soiled or bloody dressings, gloves, gowns, gauze cotton balls, specimen swabs, paper towels, or other items used to clean up biohazard waste, and other items that have come into contact with blood, bodily fluids, or infectious agents. These items aren’t considered sharps, so there isn’t a danger of them poking through a biohazard bag. Biohazard bags are typically made of strong, leak-proof materials such as polyethylene and are marked with the biohazard symbol to alert individuals to the presence of potentially harmful materials. It is essential that we properly dispose of biohazard bags to prevent the spread of infection and ensure the safety of healthcare workers, patients, and the public. By the way, the word biohazard comes from the words “biological” and “hazard.”

OSHA says biohazard bags should be:

• Labeled properly
• Kept in a hard-walled biohazard waste collection bin (trash can) 15 gallons or less
• Not disposed of in the regular garbage