During clean up after a crime scene, accident or trauma situation, biohazard waste is a common possibility. Biohazard waste is defined as any waste contaminated with potentially infectious agents or materials that may pose a threat to public health or the environment, and at Bio & Trauma Scene Cleanup, we're here to help with any and all instances of this waste.
What exactly makes up the broad definitions of biohazardous waste? Let's look at a few examples of the most common types of waste that may be found during one of these situations.
Contaminated Disposables
In any situation where humans have been handling or storing contaminated materials, disposables are going to be a significant factor. The primary culprits here are things like gloves and other disposal PPE personal protective equipment, extending to things like masks, hazard suits, and other items. Anytime these items have been in any sort of contact with a specimen, culture material or other forms of hazard, they need to be properly handled from that moment on.
Plastics
One of the primary storage formats for various forms of biohazardous waste is plastic containers. These containers will include pipettes or pipette tips, culture plates, specimen vitals and other items that may be contaminated. Once these have been contacted by contaminated materials, they need to be properly stored and labeled permanently.
Biological Contamination
In certain cases, towels and bench paper will be used during part of the collection process. These items can quickly become biologically contaminated and must be removed and managed as solid biohazardous waste in these cases.
Containers
All culture or sample containers contaminated with any biological material will be considered hazardous waste as well. The general rule of thumb is that if an item is saturated with blood or infectious bodily fluids, its considered biohazardous waste.