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Biological and Medical Waste Disposal
Biohazardous Waste (Regulated
Medical Waste)
Some wastes associated with biological materials must be disposed of
in special ways because they may have been contaminated with infectious
organisms or agents. These potentially infectious or biohazardous materials
are defined by NJ regulations as Regulated
Medical Waste. These wastes include the following:
- All sharps, e.g. glass implements, needles, syringes, blades,
etc. coming from facilities using infectious materials
- Biologically-cultured stocks and plates, human blood or tissues
For disposal of these wastes, the lab personnel:
- Sterilize or disinfect waste materials associated with viral, bacterial
or other agents infectious to humans (by autoclave or chemical treatment
equivalent to 1:10 bleach solution).
- Place all biohazardous wastes, except for sharps, directly into
the red bag-lined medical waste boxes provided by Building Services.
- Place sharps into labeled sharps containers which when filled are
placed into the medical waste box.
- When the Medical Waste box is filled, seal the bag liner and box
and notify janitor for pick-up.
IMPORTANT LABELLING REQUIREMENT: Lab
personnel must apply an adhesive-backed label completed with generator
information to each bag or container (such as autoclaved bags
or filled sharps containers) placed into the medical waste box.
Building Services provides such a label that has space to record
Date, Building, Lab #, and Contact Person. Apply this label to
all containers placed inside the medical waste box AND to the
exterior of the sealed medical waste box before it is made available
for pick-up by Building Services. Alternatively, the inner bags
and containers can be marked clearly with a permanent marker to
indicate "Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey."
- Where pick-ups are infrequent or limited, contact Building Services
to arrange for pick-up.
Other wastes generated
in these facilities that are not contaminated with biological agents
or materials are not treated
as biohazardous and may be discarded in the regular trash container,
with recyclables, or into other specially designated waste containers.
These include such items as recyclable and non-recyclable waste glass,
gloves, unused plates or tubes, fly media or embryo plates, etc.
In order to clarify how these various wastes are to be handled in laboratories
using biological materials, the waste stream chart has been developed and put into use for all
departments generating research waste. It is intended for laboratories using biological and/or chemical materials.
Choose the waste model that most
clearly fits the waste being generated and follow the indicated management procedures. Call the Biosafety Officer or Chemical Program Manager
at 8-5294 for clarification. These charts are also available in printable
pdf format (Molecular Biology or Other). Laminated
copies can be ordered through the Biosafety
Officer.
Animal Bedding Waste
This waste is picked up in a special vehicle by Princeton University
Building Services personnel and is not to be mixed with other waste.
All animal bedding is bagged by animal care personnel and placed in
specially provided gray carts for movement to the pick-up location.
Bags should be filled only to a depth and weight that will allow for
effective tying of the bag by animal facility staff and for ease of
handling by one person. For example, several partially-filled bags should
be tied and placed in the gray carts rather than one or two full bags
(bag weight should not exceed 40 pounds). This will help to prevent
repetitive motion injury to staff and help to prevent bags from being
ripped open while being handled.
The carts are maintained clean and in sanitary condition by the animal
facility staff. Any spills of bedding when loading the truck are cleaned
up by the Building Services trash crew.
Animal Carcasses
Freezers are provided in each animal facility for storage of carcasses
that have been bagged and sealed. The frozen carcasses are picked up
on a regular schedule for appropriate disposal by a contracted firm.
Freezers are cleaned and defrosted as necessary by animal laboratory
personnel to keep them in a sanitary condition.
Animal Waste from BSL2 Animal
Room LTL 41
Rodents housed in this animal space are considered to be potentially
infectious because as part of the research protocol they are infected
with Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2) animal and/or human viruses. Animal bedding,
carcasses, and tissue are placed in biohazard bags by the research staff.
All animal bedding is autoclaved before being placed in medical waste
boxes by animal care staff and disposed of in the medical waste stream.
Bagged animal carcasses and tissue are placed in the provided storage
freezer in room 41 and removed by animal care staff to medical waste
boxes for pick-up by Building Services as part of the medical waste
stream.
Patient Care Waste Disposal
All disposable wastes generated at McCosh Health Center from patient
rooms and as part of direct patient care are considered potentially
infectious and are disposed of in the medical waste stream. Syringes,
needles, and other sharps are placed in the provided sharps container
which, when filled and sealed are placed in the provided medical waste
box. When boxes are filled and sealed, they are removed by the custodial
staff outside to the locked storage shed for later pick-up by Building
Services.
Patient care waste generated at other sites on campus by medical response
personnel (i.e. Public Safety) are placed in biohazard bags and brought
to McCosh Health Center for medical waste disposal or handled by responding
EMS personnel.
A program is in place to ensure that needles and syringes generated
as part of personal diabetes care will not be an exposure hazard to
others. Collection containers are available from McCosh Health Center
which, when filled, are returned to Health Center for proper disposal
in the medical waste stream.
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