HEALTHCARE WASTE MANAGEMENT

Question 1

According to WHO, between 75-90% of wastes generated by health care activities on average are ____________

Answer 1

non-hazardous

Question 2

Refers to all wastes suspected to contain pathogens or toxins in sufficient concentration that may cause disease to a susceptible host

Answer 2

infectious waste

Question 3

includes discarded materials or equipment used for diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with infectious diseases

Answer 3

infectious wastes

Question 4

refers to tissue sections and body fluids or organs derived from biopsies, autopsies, or surgical procedures sent to the laboratory examinations

Answer 4

pathological and anatomical wastes

Question 5

refers to waste items that can cause cuts, pricks, or puncture wounds

Answer 5

sharps

Question 6

considered the most dangerous health care waste because of their potential to cause both injury and infection

Answer 6

sharps

Question 7

refers to discarded chemicals (solid, liquid, or gaseous) generated during disinfection and sterilization procedures. It includes wastes with high content of heavy metals and their derivaties

Answer 7

chemical wastes

Question 8

acetic, chromic, hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric

Answer 8

acids

Question 9

ethanol, isopropanol, phenols

Answer 9

alcohols

Question 10

formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, ortho-phthaladehyde

Answer 10

aldehydes

Question 11

ammonium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, sodium bicarbonate

Answer 11

bases

Question 12

calcium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, iodine solutions, iodophors, sodium dichloroisocyanurate, sodium hypochlorite (bleach)

Answer 12

halogenated disinfectants

Question 13

chloroform, methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, refrigerants, trichloroethylene

Answer 13

halogenated solvents

Question 14

arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, silver

Answer 14

metals

Question 15

acetone, acetonitrile, ethanol, ethyl acetate, formaldehyde, isopropanol, methanol, toluene, xylenes

Answer 15

Non-halogenated solvent

Question 16

Refers to expired, spilt, and contaminated pharmaceutical products, drugs, and vaccines including discarded items used in handling pharmaceuticals

Answer 16

pharmaceutical waste

Question 17

refers to wastes exposed to radionuclides including radioactive diagnostic material or radiotherapeutic materials

Answer 17

radioactive wastes

Question 18

refers to wastes that have not been in contact with communicable or infectious agents, hazardous chemicals, or radioactive substances, and do not pose a hazard

Answer 18

non-hazardous or general wastes

Question 19

Most important step in the proper management of health care wastes

Answer 19

waste minimization using an approach known as Green Procurement policy

Question 20

Refers to either finding a new application for a used material or using the same product for the same application repeatedly

Answer 20

reusing

Question 21

refers to the processing of used materials into new products

Answer 21

recycling

Question 22

it is defined into two wastes (1) energy recovery, and (2) as a term used to encompass three subsets of waste recovery: recycling, composting, and energy recovery

Answer 22

recovery of wastes

Question 23

Whereby waste is converted to fuel for generating electricity or for direct heating of premises

Answer 23

energy recovery

Question 24

The process of changing the biological and chemical characteristic of wastes to minimize its potential to cause harm

Answer 24

waste treatment

Question 25

refers to discharging, depositing, placing, or releasing any health care waste into air, land, or water

Answer 25

waste disposal

Question 26

Bin color: yellow Bin desc: strong leak-proof bin with cover labelled "infectious" with biohazard symbol Plastic bag/liner: yellow plastic that can withstand autoclaving with 0.009 mm thickness and labelled

Answer 26

Infectious wastes

Question 27

Bin color: yellow Bin desc: strong leak-proof bin with cover labelled with biohazard symbol Plastic bag/liner: yellow plastic that can withstand autoclaving with 0.009 mm thickness and labelled

Answer 27

Pathological and Anatomical Wastes

Question 28

Bin color: red Bin desc: puncture-proof container with wide month and cover labeled with biohazard symbol Plastic bag/liner: N/A

Answer 28

sharps

Question 29

Bin color: yellow Bin desc: Labeled as such. For liquids, bin is a disposal bottle made of amber-colored glass with at least 4 liters capacity Plastic bag/liner: yellow with **black band** plastic with 0.009 mm thickness

Answer 29

chemical wastes

Question 30

Bin color: yellow Bin desc: Strong leak-proof bin with cover labelled "______ wastes" for expired drugs and drug containers, and "cytotoxic wastes" for cytotoxic, genotoxic, and antineoplastic wastes Plastic bag/liner: yellow with **black band** plastic with 0.009 mm thickness

Answer 30

pharmaceutical wastes

Question 31

Bin color: orange Bin desc: radiation proof repositories, leak-proof, and lead-lined container labelled with name of radionuclide Plastic bag/liner: orange plastic with 0.009 mm thickness

Answer 31

radioactive wastes

Question 32

Bin color: green Bin desc: optional recycle symbol for recyclable non-hazardous wastes Plastic bag/liner: black or colorless plastics for non-biodegradable and green for biodegradable with thickness of 0.009 mm

Answer 32

general wastes

Question 33

The thermal decomposition of health care wastes in the absence of supplied molecular oxygen in the destruction chamber where the said waste is converted into gaseous, liquid, or solid form

Answer 33

Pyrolysis

Question 34

* Use of steam sterilization to render waste harmless and is an efficient wet thermal disinfection process * method of using pressure of 15 psi for 15 to 30 minutes.

Answer 34

autoclave

Question 35

* A technology that typically incorporates some type of size reduction device * Shredding of wastes is done before disinfection * in this process, waste is exposed to microwaves that raise the temperature to 100°C (237.6 °F) for at least 30 minutes

Answer 35

microwave

Question 36

* chemicals like sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, peroxyacetic acids, and heated alkali are added to health care wastes to kill or inactivate present pathogens. * recommended that sodium hypochlorite with a concentration of 5% be used * This method, however, generates chemical wastes from the used chemical disinfectants

Answer 36

chemical disinfection

Question 37

* Uses an enzyme mixture to decontaminate healthcare wastes * resulting by-product is put through an extruder to remove water for wastewater disposal * technology is suited for large applications and is also being developed for possible use in the agricultural sector

Answer 37

biological process

Question 38

* involves filling containers with waste, adding and immobilizing material, and sealing the containers * process either use cubic boxes and made of high-density polyethylene or metallic drums that are three-quarters filled with sharps, or chemicals or pharmaceutical residues

Answer 38

encapsulation

Question 39

* Especially suitable for pharmaceutical waste that involves the mixing of wastes with cement and other substances before disposal * process is relatively inexpensive and can be performed using relatively unsophisticated equipment

Answer 39

Inertization

Question 40

* Registered site designed to keep waste isolated from the environment * site must secure paper permits from DENR before it can accept wastes

Answer 40

landfill