Are Medical Waste Disposal Operators Safe?

Medical waste can be highly toxic and infective and needs to be handled carefully and treated to stop the risk of disease transmission. Treatment methods range from incineration and sterilization to chemical disinfection and microwave heat.

If medical waste is so dangerous, are those people working in the medical waste disposal field safe? The answer is yes. Leading medical waste management companies like MedAssure meet or exceed regulatory standards, using cutting-edge processes to ensure that their employees are working in an environment that fully adheres to workplace health and safety requirements.

The MedAssure system features engineering controls that ensure waste is fully disinfected and destructed to protect facility operators from any exposure to risk. An automatic lift/load system places all medical waste into a fully self-contained unit, which eliminates the need for any double or triple handling of waste. Built-in processes and controls keep operators safe from occupational hazards such as spills, lifting and needle stick injuries that are possible in less advanced medical waste handling processes.

A number of safety checks are built in to the entire medical waste removal process to ensure thorough disinfection. The treated waste is transported using a one-container system, and the non-infectious material can be disposed of like any other trash.

What is Pharmaceutical Waste?

Nobody likes to deal with garbage, but pharmaceutical waste isn’t just unpleasant – it’s dangerous. The term is used in the medical industry to describe byproducts such as diagnostic samples, bodily fluids, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, radioactive waste, and body parts, as well as soiled materials like dressings and syringes.

Pharmaceutical waste comes with two major health concerns: infection and radioactivity. If medical workers, waste technicians, patients, or anyone else comes in contact with infected items – particularly sharp objects like needles and scalpels – they are at risk for contracting and spreading the infection themselves. Scavenged and repackaged medical syringes are often contaminated with viruses like hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. Additionally, radioactive waste can lead to multiple health problems and must also be handled with special care.

Improper disposal of pharmaceutical waste is also dangerous. Conventional waste incineration releases harmful dioxins and furans into the air – pollutants that have been associated with reproductive problems, skin lesions, and cancer. Scientists are still researching the exact effects of dioxins and furans, however the general consensus is that their emission should be reduced as much as possible.

For this reason, www.MedAssureServices.com provides state-of-the-art medical waste management that does not produce any emissions, so that we can protect people and the environment from the potential effects of medical waste.

Finding the Best Medical Waste Services

From small-town offices to big-city hospitals, medical facilities of all sizes are responsible for disposing of their pharmaceutical waste in the safest way possible. But what makes certain medical waste services safer than others? Read on for some of the qualities to look for when searching for a waste disposal company.

Community Respect

At www.MedAssureServices.com, we provide a convenient site in Indianapolis without disturbing the community around us, as our facility is located in an area zoned for commercial and industrial use. We have smart truck access to prevent traffic backup, and we do all of our medical waste processing inside our facility in a closed unit, which means that no odors, noise, or emissions are produced. And of course, our convenient location has reduced the shipping costs of many of our clients.

Patient Privacy

As a medical professional, you know that it’s important to protect your patients’ privacy even after they leave the exam room. This is why www.MedAssureServices.com developed a medical waste management system that prevents identity theft by concealing any personal information contained in the waste.

Sustainable Medical Waste Management

Whether or not we work in hospitals, doctors’ offices, nursing homes, or other waste-producing facilities, medical waste management affects us all. For one thing, many medical waste items are potentially infectious, hazardous, or radioactive, meaning we cannot simply throw them out as we would a cup of coffee.

Additionally, medical waste is traditionally incinerated, a process that discharges pollutants into the atmosphere, including carbon monoxide, furans and dioxins, and harmful heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, and lead. Air pollution has been associated with causing or aggravating a number of health conditions including pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, lung and heart disease, emphysema, and allergy symptoms.

To reduce this environmental impact, companies like www.MedAssureServices.com offer alternative medical waste removal services. These impressive systems disinfect waste more thoroughly than incineration, meaning that it can be safely transported to municipal landfills and waste-to-energy plants. Best of all, they function without emitting any pollutants – in fact, many new medical disposal systems were actually designed with sustainability in mind.

Thus, sustainable medical waste disposal makes it possible to disinfect bandages, culture dishes, surgical instruments, and other types of waste without harming the environment.