Clinical wastes from laboratories in hospitals, universities and other research or manufacturing facilities may comprise a variety of hazardous materials and will usually be considered as hazardous by risk of infection.

In a thought-provoking sales pitch, a US disposal company is developing a service for the disposal of MRSA screening kits. Widely used in hospitals for mass screening of patients and staff, many of these PCR-based kits contain a little sodium hydroxide. Though ‘infectious’, the company propose that the risk is associated more with that NaOH and that theses wastes should instead be disposed as hazardous chemical waste.

Does it matter? Probably yes, as laboratory wastes frequently comprise biological and chemical hazards and have a significant composition including acids and alkalies and a variety of potentially toxic substances.

The increasing use of molecular biological techniques in medical laboratories must change the waste output composition. Producers and others must be aware of the changing composition and be careful in the processing of these wastes, to ensure selection of the most appropriate disposal option. This may require additional segregation and the creation of additional waste streams, and perhaps additional regulatory oversightmay