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Sharps Handling and Disposal Page 3 of 5
<br />To comply with the Medical Waste Management Act and to provide for healthcare personnel safety.
<br />III. Definitions:
<br />EVS — Environmental Services
<br />Sharps Waste [California Medical Waste Management Act (MWMA)] - any device having acute
<br />rigid corners, edges, or protuberances capable of cutting or piercing, including, but not limited
<br />to, all of the following:
<br />(a) Hypodermic needles, hypodermic needles with syringes, blades, needles with attached tubing,
<br />syringes contaminated with biohazardous waste, acupuncture needles, and root canal files.
<br />(b) Broken glass items, such as Pasteur pipettes and blood vials contaminated with biohazardous
<br />waste.
<br />Sharp Waste — [Federal US Department of Transportation (DOT)] - any object contaminated
<br />with a pathogen or that may become contaminated with a pathogen through handling or during
<br />transportation and also capable of cutting or penetrating skin or a packaging material. Sharps
<br />include needles, syringes, scalpels, broken glass, culture slides, culture dishes, broken capillary
<br />tubes, broken rigid plastic, and exposed ends of dental wires.
<br />Healthcare Personnel (HCP) — all paid and unpaid persons working in healthcare settings who
<br />have the potential for exposure to infectious materials, including body substances, contaminated
<br />medical supplies and equipment, contaminated environmental surfaces, or contaminated air.
<br />HCP might include (but are not limited to) physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, therapists,
<br />technicians, emergency medical service personnel, dental personnel, pharmacists, laboratory
<br />personnel, autopsy personnel, students and trainees, contractual staff not employed by the
<br />healthcare facility, and persons (e.g., clerical, dietary, housekeeping, maintenance, and
<br />volunteers) not directly involved in patient care but potentially exposed to infectious agents that
<br />can be transmitted to and from HCP.
<br />Stericycle Protocol - Sharps Waste does not include any hazardous or radioactive waste,
<br />cytotoxic drugs or antineoplastic agents, bulk blood or liquid or any waste or other material not
<br />falling within the definition of regulated medical waste to the extent such regulations specify
<br />Sharps Waste.
<br />Stericycle — a sharps management service company.
<br />IV. Text:
<br />Sharps waste includes, but is not limited to:
<br />1. Suture needles, hypodermic needles, syringes, needles with attached tubing, scalpel and razor
<br />blades, dental wires, disposable surgical instruments, and electrosurgical needles/blades.
<br />2. Medical/laboratory glassware such as slides, pipettes, blood tubes, vials, bottles, contaminated
<br />broken glass, and contaminated unbroken glass articles that could be broken during handling and
<br />transportation, thus rendering them sharps waste.
<br />3. Sharps waste as indicated in the definitions.
<br />V. Procedure:
<br />A. Handling of Sharps:
<br />1. HCP shall use the safest needle device available. A recessed needle or needleless type system
<br />will be used when possible; when not feasible, syringes with self -sheathing needles will be
<br />used.
<br />http://dhalts0l /Policy/Policy.nsf/0/2011 CC 13A41 C 1 F228 825 7A07005427DF?OpenDocu... 9/10/2012
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