Prison needle exchange scheme?
There is no doubt that in US and UK prisons, needles are a widespread problem and major health risk. The risk of sharps injury is high since needles are not […]
health and safety
Medicine drop boxes
Medicine drop boxes may be a practical option for the disposal of unwanted medicinal products. Sited in convenient locations, they would receive prescription and non-prescription products removing wastes accumulating in […]
Indian hospital troubled by broken incinerator
News in The times of India that a hospital in Kanpur is presently suffering the consequences of a broken incinerator. Though it is officially disputed, clinical wastes are being burned […]
More clinical waste on US beaches
It seems to be a particular affliction for American beaches, that so often they suffer from clinical and related wastes washed up on the tide. This time it’s Slaughter Beach […]
Clinical waste security – watch out for spies
Waste security at all points from producer sites though intermediate storage area and transport to the point of final destruction is of obvious importance. In no particular order, protection against […]
Local Authority ‘dumps’ clinical waste collections
Ashfield District Council has upset at least one resident by ‘dumping’ clinical waste collections from most households. Over the last five years, one 43 year old resident who spends nine […]
Healthcare waste management – a global perspective
UN investigator says medical waste mostly unregulated, often dumped illegally, risks ignored “The Washington Post today quotes a human rights investigator for the United Nations who says up to a quarter of […]
Waste spill
A tractor trailer carrying liquid low grade radioactive medical waste swerved to avoid hitting a car and struck the guardrail near Riverside Parkway, Cobb County, Georgia and overturned just before midnight Monday. […]
Sharps injury – a personal story
For anyone uncertain or unconvinced about the implications of a sharps injury or blood exposure, take a look at the video by the CDC’s STOP STICKS Campaign. This 9-minute video […]
Leave it!
It is a general rule, predicated on safety, that once an item has been placed into a clinical waste container then no attempt should be made to retrieve it. Even with […]
Cutting through the ….
Advertising flimflam is usually quite obvious. Bold and exaggerated claims and highly selective quotes clipped out of context are usually easy to spot. The law says much about the use […]
Workwear hygiene for waste handlers – Can you help?
Workwear hygiene for waste handlers is a largely ignored issue but one that is nonetheless important and worthy of further investigation. We know that the external surfaces of most clinical […]
Hi-viz workwear
High visibility workwear is ubiquitous across the waste industries and indeed just about everywhere else, but how did it originate? The high-visibility vest arrived in Britain almost five decades ago. Last […]
Vietnam recycles clinical waste plastics to household utensils
Once more, a story has reached the news of plastics recovered from clinical wastes being recycled to teh manufacture of plastic plates, cups and other utensils. A previous story was […]
Disposal-related sharps injuries
“Almost 200 staff suffered injuries from contaminated needles or sharp medical instruments at the region’s main hospitals in just 12 months. “Hull And East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust said 197 […]
Medical waste closes 8 Long Island beaches
Eight Long Island beaches have closed after medical waste washed ashore. Dozens of needles, syringes, pill bottles and other medical wastes were found by lifeguards. Last updated: Thursday, October 11, […]
Hand hygiene – is this wet work?
Not a joke, but it seems that HSE are beginning to think of the handwashing demands of some healthcare professionals as ‘wet work’. This suggests that, quite rightly, special provision […]
HSE sharps injury advice updated
The HSE sharps injury advice page has recently been updated. http://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices/needlesticks/index.htm Last updated: Saturday, August 13, 2011
Hospital dumping solid clinical waste into sewer
Staff at Mary Washington Hospital in Virginia, US, have been dumping medical waste in the city sewer system, including two recent cases when used bandages, gloves and syringes clogged a […]
PPE for waste handlers
PPE for waste handlers is a somewhat thorny subject – many do not wear it, even when it is provided while others, many others, assume that a corporate sweatshirt or […]
Sharps bin for ambulant use
Sharps bins are generally big and bulky. 1, 2, 4, or more litres capacity, these smaller sizes may sit neatly on a desk or benchtop but for those who are […]
Pharma waste drop boxes
The simplest ideas are often the best. To manage the safe and environmentally sound disposal of community pharmaceutical wastes, several Oklahoma counties have installed pharma drop boxes at popular locations, […]
Recycled medical waste floods city
“It’s wobbly with a crooked needle and a depressed piston. The tip looks blunt, the cap is loose and the tube has a pale exterior. ‘For single use only‘ says […]
Who suffers most sharps injuries and body fluid exposures?
Sharps injury, and to a lesser extend blood and body fluid exposures, are a constant problem for health professionals and great attention is given to its prevention. However, we have raised […]
€10,000 for needle ‘scare’
A toddler who may have suffered a needlestick injury while playing in a medical centre, has been awarded €10,000. In September 2007, 18-month-old Callum Wynne and his brother had been in the […]
Free webinar on sharps safety in non-hospital settings
The International Healthcare Worker Safety Center is sponsoring a free webinar on a much overlooked topic: “Achieving Sharps Safety Compliance in Non-Hospital Healthcare Settings.” Last updated: Sunday, October 10, 2021
Are safety sharp devices really safe?
A couple of years ago, when the talk about the potential of safety sharp devices in reducing sharps injuries I had a wager with a good friend, that the incidence […]
Syringe horror for Aussie gardener
Yet another regional news report, this time from Australia’s Sunshine Coast, of a sharps injury from a needle discarded into undergrowth garden borders of a holiday complex and lost in […]
High prevalence of HIV, Hep B, Hep C in IV drug users
Today’s BMJ carries a short report of the World Drug Report, launched at the UN headquarters in New York where the UN’s secretary general Ban Ki-moon, said that illicit drugs cause some […]
Handling waste from Norovirus outbreaks
The Hospital Infection Society is presently reviewing the penultimate draft of its guidance document “Guidelines for the Management of Norovirus Outbreaks in Acute and Community Health and Social Care Settings”. […]