ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, SAFETY & RISK MANAGEMENT

‫ اﻟﺴـــــــﻼﻣﺔ و ﻣﻌﺎﻟﺠﺔ اﻟﻤﺨﺎﻃﺮ‬،‫اﻟﺼـــــﺤﺔ اﻟﺒـﻴــﺌــﻴﺔ‬

Hazardous Waste
Management

American University of Beirut

Outline 
1. Objectives
2. Definitions of Hazardous Waste
3. Hazardous Waste Management
4. Biohazardous Waste: Segregation, Handling, 
and Transportation

Objectives
¾To minimize the potential spread of diseases 
inside healthcare facilities/biological labs and 
to the outside environment.

¾To reduce the amount of hazardous waste 
generated.
To better protect the environment & reduce
hazardous waste treatment expenditures.

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 Hazardous Waste

Materials that may be constituted of 
biological, chemical, or radioactive 
substances and are no longer needed or 
suitable for their designated use.

Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

No longer needed or suitable for its designated use

Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

Chemical substances that exhibit at least

one of the following characteristics:
¾ Flammable / Ignitable (Xylenes, Ethanol…)
¾ Reactive / Explosive (dry < 10% H20 picric acid)
¾ Toxic (Formaldehyde, Glutaraldehyde, Methanol…)
¾ Corrosive (Acids, Bases…)

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 Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

Hazardous medications that are expired and/or

remaining after patients use/consumption.
¾ Chemotherapy contaminated items such as vials,
ampoules, IV bottles, tubes, syringes, gloves, masks,
absorbent pads, and any other contaminated items used
in the preparation, administration, and handling of these
materials.
¾ Vaccines

Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

Solids, liquids, or sharps containing or

contaminated with radioactive material.

Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

¾ Liquid or semi-liquid blood or blood components or

other potentially infectious materials.
¾ Items that are caked with dried blood or other
potentially infectious materials and are capable of
releasing these materials during handling.
¾ Contaminated sharps.
¾ Pathological waste containing blood or other
potentially infectious materials.

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 Mixed Hazardous Waste
Priority:
1. Radioactive Waste
2. Chemical & Drug Waste
3. Biohazardous Waste
4. Regular Waste

Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

Drug Waste

Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

Radioactive Waste
‫ﻧﻔﺎﻳﺎت ﻣﺸﻌﺔ‬

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 Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

+
Regular Waste

Biological Waste

Hazardous Waste Management

Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

Should be disposed of according to “Basel Convention on the Control

of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their
Disposal”.

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 Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

¾ All non-sharp articles contaminated with hazardous drugs should be

disposed of in approved red plastic bags labeled “Hazardous Chemical
Waste”. Labels should be written in Arabic and English.
¾ Contaminated sharps should be placed into red sharps containers.
¾ Hazardous drug waste should be incinerated.

Hazardous
Waste

Chemical Drug Radioactive Biohazardous

¾ Waste should be placed in special color coded and properly labeled

containers (shielded if needed).
¾ Disposal as per terms of licenses issued by the Lebanese Atomic
Energy Commission (LAEC) or the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA).

Biohazardous Waste

“The waste which are capable of
producing infectious diseases”

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 Biohazardous Waste Segregation

¾ Should be sorted at the site of generation into

color-coded approved plastic bags or
containers.

¾ Waste bags should be placed in an approved

secondary plastic container.

Biohazardous Waste Segregation
¾ Bags and containers should be labeled by the 
Biohazard symbol and the word “BIOHAZARDOUS 
WASTE” in Arabic and English, and should not be 
filled more than 3/4 of their loading capacity.

¾ Larger volumes of waste should not be packed or 
compressed in the bags or containers to achieve the 
volume limits.

BIOHAZARDOUS WASTE

Autoclaving

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 BIOHAZARDOUS WASTE

Incineration

Biohazardous Waste Segregation

Biohazardous
Waste

Solid Sharps Pathologic Liquid

Biohazardous
Waste

Solid Sharps Pathologic Liquid

Includes any non-sharp solid items contaminated with

biohazardous material (e.g. gloves & other disposable
personal protective equipment (PPE), plastic-ware, towels,
bench paper…

Yellow bags labeled by the ‘Biohazard’

symbol and the word “Biohazardous
waste”

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 Biohazardous
Waste

Solid Sharps Pathologic Liquid

Contaminated sharp articles that may cause cuts or punctures

such as needles, scalpels, broken glass, razors…

Yellow rigid plastic sharps container

Biohazardous
Waste

Solid Sharps Pathologic Liquid

¾ Human specimens or tissues that are removed or obtained during

surgery, autopsy, and for diagnostic evaluation.
¾ Unfixed human organs, tissues, body parts… (except for hairs and nails).

Red plastic bag labeled BIOHAZARDOUS WASTE

Biohazardous
Waste

Solid Sharps Pathologic Liquid

¾ Any body fluid with visible blood

¾ Amniotic fluid , Cerebrospinal ¾ Bulk quantities of
fluid, Pericardial fluid, Peritoneal blood
fluid, Pleural fluid, Semen/vaginal ¾ Blood products
secretions, Synovial fluid… ¾ Body fluids

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 Biohazardous
Waste

Solid Sharps Pathologic Liquid

< 10 ml > 10 ml
Treated as solid waste

Contained in leak proof plastic or metal containers with

tight lids labeled by the ‘Biohazard’ symbol and the word
Yellow bag
“BIOHAZARDOUS WASTE” in Arabic and English

Biohazardous Waste Handling & 
Transportation
¾ Wastes should be segregated at site generation.

¾ Bags of waste and sharps containers should, when they are 
three quarters full, be closed and removed from the site to a 
dirty utility room.

¾ Each department/ward should store its wastes in the utility 
room, if existing, or other designated area waiting for collection.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, SAFETY & RISK MANAGEMENT

‫ اﻟﺴـــــــﻼﻣﺔ و ﻣﻌﺎﻟﺠﺔ اﻟﻤﺨﺎﻃﺮ‬،‫اﻟﺼـــــﺤﺔ اﻟﺒـﻴــﺌــﻴﺔ‬

THANK YOU
Questions?!
http://www.aub.edu.lb/vpff/ehsrm/Pages/index.aspx

Ext: 2360/2362/2379

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