liquid waste - (Mar/01/2010 )

Hi everyone,

I was have this question, how to get rid of liquid chemical waste??
You see I was working in a hospital lab and they use to prepare 10% bleach filled in a bottle then throw tubes, tips etc...

so how to get rid of the liquid inside??

my second question

sharp materials such as tubes and needles or any glass content, is it safe to dispose them by throwing them in biohazard container then be decontaminated by autoclave?

or the idea of putting them in 10% bleach then autoclaving them, so its like chemical then phisical decontamination (can we place 10% bleach filled bottles in autoclave???)??? or is that too much


I would really appretiate finding answeres to my questions

thanks

Hi,

It depends on the liquid waste. Consult your institutional hygiene plan. Some wastes may be discarded down the drain after decontamination, but some must be collected by the institutional EHS for specific disposal procedures. Keep a record log of all liquid waste components for the EHS. They will want to know the full name of each chemical, the percent or amount of that chemical, the type of container, and total quantity of waste. They may also ask for the CAS, if available, and the manufacturer.

As for liquid inside tips, we blow out the tips into a liquid waste container, then put the empty pipettes or tips into an autoclave bag. If liquid is left inside, and the bag is punctured, then liquid will leak out of the bag.

We put our uncontaminated broken glass into a plastic pail with a lid for discard. Our infected sharps/glass went into a sharps container and are incinerated.

I do not think autoclaving bleach-waste is recommended, as it may corrode the autoclave.