1. Decontamination of Infectious Wastes

2. Infectious Wastes What are infectious wastes??
Depends on whose regulations your situation falls under
Regulatory Authority for Infectious Wastes
EPA (RCRA, MWT, CAA)
OSHA (OSHAct; sharps, BBP)
DOT (inter- and intrastate transport)
CDC (Biosafety Guidelines w/NIH)
States

3. Professional Organizations
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO)
National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS)
Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC)
American Biosafety Association (ABSA)

4. Thermal Inactivation Factors affecting heat resistance of microbes:
Age
Growth Phase
Growth Temperature
Sublethal Heating
Nutrient Conditions pH
Antibiotics
Cation Exchange
Other treatments affecting heat resistance:
Hydrostatic Pressures
Ionizing Radiation
Chemical Treatment (e.g. hydrogen peroxide)
Other Substances

5. Thermal Inactivation Factors Affecting Dry Heat Destruction
Temperature
Microbial Water Content
Control of Water Content During Heating
Encapsulation in Crystals and Solids
Gas Atmosphere
Added Solutes
Lipids

9. Traditional Waste Treatment and Disposal
Incineration
2400 MW incinerators in operation
846,000 toms of MW
Reduce to non-combustible ash ( ºC; 1093ºC)
Autoclaving
Laboratory: 121ºC at 15psi for 30 minutes
Commercial: 135ºC at psi for 1 hour

10. Alternative Treatment Processes
Thermal Processes
Rotoclav (144ºC at 48 psi for 65 minutes)
Sani-Pak Sterilizers (32 psi, 132ºC then ºC; 30 minutes)
Chemi-Clav (continuous feed; sodium hypochlorite and water; ºC for 30 minutes)
Microwave Treatment (1.2 kW; ºC for 30 minutes)
Electro-Thermal Deactivation (ETD) (low-frequency radiowaves used to heat 93ºC
Bio-oxidation/pyrolysis (93-538ºC then ºC)
Plasma Pyrolysis (electrically charged gas; same results as incineration but no emissions problems)

11. Alternative Waste Treatment Processes
Chemical Processes
Peracetic acid (Ecocycle 10)
Degradables Processing (Polyvinyl alcohol products; Orex DP2000; 82-95ºC)
Alkaline Hydrolysis (WR2 Tissue Digestor; ºC at psi for 3-18 hours)
Irradiation
E-beams

14. Microwave Shredding Treatment

15. Chemi-Clav

16. Alkaline Hydrolysis

17. Air Incineration

18. Bio-Oxidation/Pyrolysis

19. Sani-Pak