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Essentials of Public Health Dentistry
Major sources of health-care waste:
Hospitals and other health facilities
.Laboratories and research centres
Mortuary and autopsy centres
Animal research and testing
laboratories
Blood banks and collection services
.Nursing homes for the elderly
Minor sources of health-care
waste:
.Small health-care establishments
Eg: First-aid posts, dental clinics,
acupuncturists
Specialized health-care establish-
ments and institutions with low
waste generation
Eg: Disabled persons' institutions
Activities involving intravenous or
subcutaneous interventions
Eg: Cosmetic ear-piercing and tattoo
parlours
Funeral services
.Ambulanceservices
Home treatment
Risks associated with health-care
waste
The hazardous nature of health-care waste
is due to one or more of the following
characteristics,
1. Presence of infectious agents:
Infectious waste should always be
assumed to potentially contain a va-
riety of pathogenic microorganisms.
This is because the presence or ab-
sence of pathogens cannot be deter-
mined at the time a waste item is pro-
duced and discarded into a container.
Pathogens in infectious waste that is
not well managed may enter the hu-
man body and cause disease.
2. Toxic or hazardous
chemicals or
biologically aggressive pharma-
ceuticals:
Chemical wastes may cause intoxi.
cation, either by acute or chronic
exposure, or physical injuries the
burns,
most common being chemical
Intoxication can result from absorp-
tion of a chemical or pharmaceuti-
cal through the skin or the mucous
membranes, or from inhalation or in-
gestion. Injuries to the skin, the eyes
or the mucous membranes of the air-
ways can occur by contact with flam-
mable, corrosive or reactive chemi-
cals.
3. Genotoxic or cytotoxic chemical
composition:
Many antineoplastic drugs are
carcinogenic and mutagenic and
might be associated with secondary
neoplasia. Many cytotoxic drugs are
extreme irritants and have harmful
local effects after direct contact with
skin or eyes. Cytotoxic drugs may also
cause dizziness, nausea, headache or
dermatitis.
4. Presence of used sharps:
Worldwide, an estimated 16 billion
injections are administered every
year. Not all needles and syringes
are disposed of safely, creating a
risk of injury and infection and
opportunities for reuse. Injections
with contaminated needles and
Genotoxic toxic to the
deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA)
Cytotoxic toxic to the cell
Cytostatic suppressing the growth
and multiplication of
the cell
Antineoplastic inhibiting the
development of
abnormal tissue growth
Chemotherapeutic the use of chemicals for
treatment, including
cancer therapy