What happens when there is no proper medical waste disposal? Read this post

Medical waste is a very dangerous source of the generation of different hazardous medical wastes. Medical waste generation and disposal are highly important in our society especially in countries where the health sector is deprived and has little importance like third-world countries where the population is so dense.

Medical institutions such as clinics, hospitals, and diagnostic centers should always practice proper medical waste management for the safety of everyone in the community because a medical waste, left unattended and left improperly disposed of could put an entire community at risk in disease breakout.

There have been many cases that disease outbreaks were caused by improper medical waste disposal and it has also been proven to be deadly since a lot of people are infected in different diseases.

So what are the dangers of improper medical waste disposal? To find out more, here are some of the answers detailed below courtesy of the most-trusted medical waste disposal Arkansas has.

1. It risks both human and wildlife populations– The absence of proper medical waste disposal can reach communities and wildlife habitats. Animals might be enticed to eat infected human tissues that aren’t disposed of properly and eventually that animal could carry infectious diseases while flies that swarm these wastes might end up at our homes posing another serious threat to our health.
2. Highly hazardous– There are different categories of medical wastes. It could be pathological which means it contains human tissue, sharps like broken glasses, used needles and syringes and blades that could not just injure someone but could also transmit infection; chemicals which are used in much medical equipment in the hospital like mercury, solvents, disinfectants, and heavy metals, expired medicines, radioactive substances, and other general medical wastes.
3. It risks the health of medical staff– Even before you get rid of your medical waste, your staff is already exposed to the risks it comes with medical wastes because they are the ones who dispose it to the trash bins of a clinic or hospital. The hospital staff is exposed to highly transmittable diseases such as hepatitis, HIV, Ebola, and syphilis to name a few.
4. It jeopardizes the medical institution’s image– This could tarnish a reputation of a medical institution if the government or private sectors that are conscious of the environment discover reckless acts about improper medical waste disposal. Medical institutions have a dedicated department that handles the proper medical waste disposal that is why being reckless about this matter is the last thing everyone expects to them.
5. It exposes the entire community– If the medical wastes aren’t disposed of properly by the medical waste disposal services and end up in landfills, it instantly creates a huge risk to the community nearby the landfill that could contaminate the air, land and the water. The non-biodegradable medical wastes take a lot of time before it completely decomposes.
6. It can be a source of diseases– Since there are radioactive medical wastes; if not disposed of properly could cause birth defects to pregnant women, mutations, risks of getting cancer and developing diseases that are related to radioactive materials.