San Diego County Medical Waste Disposal and its staff are responsible for correctly identifying and decontaminating regulated material. It includes potentially infectious material, and synthetic Nucleic Acid waste (sDNA), before disposing of it.
Decontamination is required for solid waste potentially contaminated by infectious agents, rDNA/DNA, or other substances. You can decontaminate solid waste by steam sterilization or chemical disinfection (i.e., autoclaving).
Regulated Medical Waste (RMW)
It is the proper term for biological waste. It includes biohazardous and non-medical waste that has been decontaminated by lab staff. After treating it at a licensed facility, RMW cannot be disposed of as regular trash.
San Diego County Medical Waste Disposal
San Diego County Medical Waste Disposal is responsible for the safe collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal of biohazardous materials. To mitigate the potential hazards, our institution requires that certain materials be decontaminated before Building Services dispose of them. It must also meet all applicable standards and best practices in biosafety, transportation safety, and other regulations.
You can dispose of biohazardous materials yourself if you have an autoclave available and have completed the Autoclave Safety Training. The steam sterilization of microorganisms with an autoclave effectively kills them. New York State regulations must be adhered to by research and clinical labs regarding the use and maintenance of steam autoclaves used to sterilize biohazardous materials.
Regulated Med Waste:
The Following Biohazardous Materials Are Regarded as Regulated Medical Wastes (RMW):
- Sharps waste (e.g., needles, syringes, broken glassware)
- Blood, tissue, body fluids, and cell lines from human and nonhuman primates
- Cultures and stocks of biohazardous substances (e.g., bacteria, rickettsia, or fungi),
- Recombinant DNA, or synthetic nucleic acid (sNA), is also known as recombinant DNA. It includes products of laboratory procedures involving plasmids.
- Potentially infectious laboratory waste materials (e.g., used culture dishes, tubes, and PPE) have come in contact with a biohazard.
- Laboratories animal waste (e.g., Bedding, carcasses, and body parts that have been exposed to rDNA or another biohazardous agent.
Pathological Human Waste:
San Diego County Medical Waste Disposal defines Regulated Medical Waste as any material used in biomedical research, production, or testing of biologicals or health care.
- Infectious animal waste.
- Pathological human waste.
- Blood and blood products.
- Needles and syringes, also known as sharps.
- Cultures and stocks (microbiological material).
- Other infectious waste (e.g., Materials contaminated by infectious agents, such as the Hemorrhagic Fever virus.
Disposal of Solid Biohazardous Waste:
You can collect solid biohazardous material in biohazard waste bags that are safe for autoclaving. Double-bag biohazardous waste identified as infectious should be placed in biohazard waste bags.
Before closing, add water to the biohazard waste bags that are autoclave-safe. To allow steam to escape, loosely tie the autoclave-safe biohazard waste bags before you start autoclaving. Place the bag in a sturdy, leak-proof container, such as LDPE (low-density polyethylene) or stainless steel tray. It will allow the bag’s biohazard symbol visibility.
Disposal of Intact Glass and Plastic Waste:
You can collect glass and plastic waste in a puncture-resistant container, e.g., Stericycle red sharps box or a sturdy cardboard box lined by a Regulated Medical Waste(San Diego County Medical Waste Disposal) bag.
Laboratory waste items potentially contaminated with infectious materials or recombinant/synthetic nucleic acid molecules designated for BS2 containment should be decontaminated before disposal (e.g., Steam autoclave sterilization.
Disposal of Biohazardous Sharps Waste:
You can collect sharps, such as broken glassware and pipet tips, in a puncture-resistant container, such as the Stericycle red sharps containers.
Mix with other types of waste:
Liquid Biohazardous Waste Disposal:
Before liquid biohazardous waste can be disposed of down the laboratory sink into a sanitary sewer, it must first get cleaned. You can collect liquid biohazardous waste from the environment in sealed containers marked with a biohazard symbol. You must disinfect liquid biohazardous waste according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Because it is accepted for disposal, sodium hypochlorite is the most common chemical disinfectant for tissue-culture disposal. To disinfect, add sodium hypochlorite, also known as bleach, to the solution. The final concentration should be 10 percent. Allow 8 hours for the solution to contact before it is disposed of down the laboratory sink.
Human Clinical Pathology and Nonhuman Primate Carcasses:
For human clinical pathology wastes and nonhuman primate carcasses, incineration is necessary. Before obtaining nonhuman primate or human pathological samples, could you make arrangements for their disposal? Don’t dispose of clinical pathology waste in conjunction with biohazardous materials.
Laboratory Animal Waste:
Incineration is necessary for recognizable tissue, body parts, and carcasses of vertebrate laboratory animals. The Center for Comparative Medicine and Surgery manages these types of laboratory animal wastes.
Transporting Biohazardous Waste:
When transporting biohazardous materials from their point of collection to a central decontamination center for biohazardous material. Secure them in leak-proof secondary containers marked with the universal Biohazard symbol.
Regulated Disposal of Medical Waste
All Regulated Medical Waste(San Diego County Medical Waste Disposal) should be disposed of in Stericycle red bins or bagged in red Regulated Medical Waste Bags.
