COLLECTION AND STERILIZATION OF MEDICAL WASTES

Pursuant to Regulation for Control of Medical Wastes, implementation of alternative disposal technologies are allowed in our country which are implemented in developed countries for disposal of medical wastes. Accordingly, infectious wastes and sharp wastes are rendered harmless by subjecting them to sterilization process and wastes which become riskless are stored at domestic waste landfills and then eliminated. Establishment and operation of sterilization facilities are subjected to strict rules of the Regulation. Accordingly, conformity of sterilization systems with internationally accepted standards (ISO, CE and others) must be documented in terms of mechanical safety (high compartment pressure, heat resistance etc.) and sterilization performance. Furthermore, sterilization facilities must have a temporary waste repository, the system must have a waste fragmentation mechanism and there must be no contamination and toxicity in air and water ambient during and after the process and the entire process such as quantity, pressure, temperature and waste’s exposure time to the process must be electronically recorded and it must be tested whether infectious wastes subjected to sterilization process are rendered harmless or not by using chemical and biological indicators.