Handling of Chemicals Waste & Clinical Waste

Safety In Handling Of Chemical Wastes

i.              Exposure to laboratory wastes containing hazardous and toxic chemicals can pose a serious threat to the health of the laboratory personnel involved. This can occur by inhalation of vapor or dust, absorption through the skin from contaminated clothing, spillage on benches, floors or apparatus and ingestion from contaminated hands or food or smoking.

ii.            Personnel should be made aware of the potential hazards of the waste, about the limitations of the protective equipment and the safety procedures for handling waste.

iii.           Only suitable and approved items of protective equipment should be used.

iv.           Protective equipment’s to be used when handling hazardous and toxic waste should include:

a.            Rubber, PVC or polythene gloves,

b.            Preferably disposable laboratory coats.

c.            Laboratory safety glasses or goggles. If there is a danger of liquids splashing, a full-face shields is recommended and

d.            An approved respirator with a suitable particulate/ vapor cartridge or an approved disposable face mask

v.            Protective equipment’s should be stored adjacent to the work area and should not be taken to other areas of the laboratory.

vi.           Laboratory coats should be removed and stored before leaving the laboratory and should not be worn in rooms designated for eating and drinking.

Storage And Labelling Of Chemical Wastes

i.              Chemical waste should be stored in containers which are durable and which are able to prevent spillage or leakage of the contents into the environment. These containers which can withstand chemical attack by their contents must be leak-proof and gas tight.

ii.            Incompatible wastes should be stored in separate containers.

iii.           Areas for storage of the waste containers should be separate from the working area of the laboratory and maintained to ensure that there is no spillage or leakage

iv.           The containers should be located in a well-ventilated place and kept tightly closed at all times to stop volatile materials escaping.

v.            Containers of chemicals waste should be clearly labeled for identification and for information in accordance with labeling requirement for scheduled wastes.

vi.           The label may be a stick-on type, a metal plated-on type or a stenciled/ printed type on the container and the labels should not fade-off with time.

vii.          All hazards must be clearly identified on the labels. In the case of wastes that are capable of presenting two or more hazards, all hazards must be clearly identified and the wastes labeled accordingly.

Disposal Of Chemical Wastes

(REFER TO QUALITY PROCEDURE: HM/JP/QP-024)

i.              Chemical wastes should be disposed off quickly to avoid accumulation of large stocks and the formation of dangerous compounds such as peroxides.

ii.            Toxic or hazardous wastes should not be disposed off down the sink, drain or into the atmosphere.

iii.           Ensure that the only substances disposed off ‘down the sink’ are non-hazardous aqueous solutions within the pH range of 6 to 10. (Acidic or alkaline wastes should be neutralized before it is disposed down the sink or the drain or disposed into a pit)

iv.           Chemicals immiscible with water must not be discarded into sinks or drains. Flammable solvents must not be discarded in the similar manner.

v.            All waste solvents should be collected in the appropriate waste containers and clearly labeled. The wastes containers should not be filled up to the brim. Always leave some air space.

vi.           Where solvent mixtures are collected, the name of each solvent component should be specified. Avoid mixing solvent wastes.

vii.          Waste chloroform should never be mixed with other ether solvent. It may react dangerously with impure acetone. Appendix VIII provides a list to incompatible chemicals.

viii.         Mercury waste should be collected by means of a suction pump and placed in bottle, sealed and sent for disposal.

ix.           Disposal of chemicals manage by concession company (Medivest Sdn Bhd/MSB) :

a.            Chemical waste are kept in original container and put in temporary chemical waste store in Histopathology.

b.            Chemical waste are collected once a week by MSB Staff.

c.            “Kualiti Alam” shall dispose hazardous chemicals that are generated in the laboratory. The waste is picked up from Chemical Waste Store.

d.            “Kualiti Alam” or its representative agent shall ensure suitable containers are used in packaging and transportation of wastes from the agreed site.

e.            Chemical waste ready to be transported to Main Chemical Waste Store by MSB staff. Kualiti Alam will dispose chemical wastes that collected from main chemical waste store.

f.             For specimen containing formalin, collection will be done by Kualiti Alam directly from the histopatology lab. The specimen containers shall be placed into a open top drum and sealed. The drums are transported directly into Kualiti Alam Vehicle.

Handling Of Clinical Wastes

i.              Clinical specimens should be properly disposed off in yellow bag and clinical waste bags to be collected by Medivest Sdn Bhd (MSB).

ii.            Wastes contaminated with blood and blood products (including blood packs) should be discarded into yellow-colored bags. Ensure that there is no leakage of fluid from the bag.

iii.           Excreta and other body fluids should be discarded directly into the toilet or into the sluice that is directly connected to the sewage system.

iv.           Sharp instrument such as ampoules and needles should be put in a puncture-resistant container (sharps bin) to be disposed by incineration.

v.            All glassware for recycling should be decontaminated with disinfectant and autoclaving at 121°C for 10-20 minutes or heat-treated at 160°C for 1 hour prior to discarding the content.

 Disposal Of Clinical Waste

(REFER TO QUALITY PROCEDURE: HM/JP/QP-014)

i.              Disposal through contractors –Medivest Sdn. Bhd.

ii.            Disposal Clinical Services :

a.            providing the clinical bins and biohazard bags for biohazard materials and clinical wastes.

b.            daily collection of the clinical bins to be sent to the Central Storage Area.

c.            clinical wastes are sent to Bukit Rambai Incinerator Plant for incineration.

Segregation Of Waste 

Clinical Wastes Management