BIOSAFETY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT IN HISTOPATHOLOGY

A SEMINAR PRESENTATION

1. BIOSAFETY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT IN HISTOPATHOLOGY LABORATORY BY MLS. GIFT NNAKA TABAT A SEMINAR PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTOPATHOLOGY, ABUTH SHIKA SUPERVISED BY MLS. SUFIYANU SANI JULY, 2022

2. OUTLINE Introduction B iosafety and biosecurity Biosafety level guidelines Practices to biosafety Pathological w aste management Categories and classifications of pathological waste Principles of waste managements Steps for effective management of pathological waste Conclusions Recommendations References

3. INTRODUCTION Medical laboratories primarily process and perform testing on human specimens to provide results and interpretation for individual patient management ,infection control, and public health purposes. Any clinical specimen potentially contains biological agents, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, or parasites. It is therefore essential to ensure biological safety in the medical laboratory to prevent laboratory acquired infections by laboratory staffs. ( Sharma et al , 2018)

4. BIOSAFETY AND BIOSECURITY Biosafety includes the protective measures against the risk of contamination with pathogens germs in the laboratories that handle pathogens or perform microbial test for medical or scientific research purposes, as well as means of protecting the environment and humans against hazard contaminations. It is different from biosecurity which refers to the sum of measures designed to protect workers ,environment and population against the loss, use and release in the environment of pathogenic biological agents. ( Ravikant et al 2002)

5. BIOSAFETY LEVEL GUIDELINES Micro-organisms have generally being categories into risks group, and medical are classified into four biosafety levels.

6. PRACTICES TO BIOSAFETY Limited access to laboratory when work is in progress Laboratory coat, safety glasses and gloves required Red bags and sharps container required Label all equipments Biohazard signs posted at the laboratory entrance. etc

7. Pathological Waste management Pathological waste ( human tissues or fluids) is define as any waste remove during surgery, autopsy or other medical procedures including human tissues, organs, body parts, body fluids and specimen along their containers. According to WHO report 85% of the hospital are non harzardous , 10% are effective ( hence harzardous ), and 5% are non infectious but hazardous ( chemical, pharmaceutical and radioactive). (WHO, 2010)

8. Pathological Waste management contn

9. Categories and classifications of pathological waste Biomedical waste in histopathology unit can be group into two. 1. Infectious waste: This means waste that is potentially contaminated and can spread diseases, viruses, bacteria and other things that post as a health risk. 2. Non- infectious: This means waste that doesn’t pose as a health risk. Examples are, forcep , gloves, pippete test tube. ( Chitnis et al , 2000)

10. Categories and classifications of pathological waste contn

11. Principles of waste managements Staff training waste segregation at source Waste treatment ( disinfection ) at site Waste collection and transportation Occupational safety Final dispose of waste Continuous monitoring of the system ( Patil et al , 2000)

12. Steps for effective management of pathological waste 1. Survey of waste generated D ifferentiate the type of waste Quantity of the waste generated D etermine the points of generation and types of waste generated at each point Determine the level of generation and disinfection within the laboratory 2. Segregation of waste It refer to the basic separation of different of waste generated at source, and thereby reducing the risk as well as cost of handling disposal. Segregation is the most crucial step in histology waste management- the bins and bags should carried the biohazard symbols indicating the nature of waste to the scientist, patient or public labels should be non washable and visible

13. Steps for effective management of pathological waste contn 3. Collection and categorization of waste Sharps most always be kept in puncture proof containers to avoid injuries and infection to the waste handlers, and the waste should be handle properly by using universal precautions to prevent any kind of infection, 4 . Storage of waste Once collections occurs then the pathological waste is tour in a proper place. Segregated wash of different categories need to be collected in an identifiable containers. The duration of storage should not exceed 8 to 10 hours at most 24 hours. Each container should be clearly labeled. ( Patil et al , 2000)

14. Steps for effective management of pathological waste contn 5. Transportations of waste Transportation devices include trolleys, wheel barrows etc Containers should be tired properly before transportation Container accompanied with a signed document by the clinician mentioning date, shift, quantity and designation 6 . Treatment of waste The main objectives of treatment are disinfecting and decontaminating the waste and also volume reduction. 5 ways of treating pathological waste include- Incineration: typical for pathological waste and never for plastics Thymal ( autoclaving) typical for sharps wastes and infectious waste not for pathological waste Irradiation : typical for sharps waste and infectious waste Chemical : typical for chemical waste and liquid waste ( e.g stains or cleaning agent) ( Patil et al , 2000)

15. Conclusion Safe and effective management of biomedical waste is not only a legal, but also a social responsibility and as such, pathological waste management can not successfully without the wellness, devotion, self multivation , cooperation and participation of all sections of employees of any health care establishment. The need for the continuous training of the staff and for the establishment of individual and collective responsibility for preventing biosafety incident and trans pacing biosecurity rules in correlation with the medical laboratory should be as well emphasize

16. Recommendations All concerned, and organization should- Promote sound health care waste management in their advocacy. Develop innovative solution to reduce the volume and toxicity of the waste they produce and associated with there product ( Histopathology specimen could be washed with water to remove formalin and then sent in yellow polythene bags to central common facility) Ensure that global health strategies and programs take into account health care waste management. Continuous safety for staff and regular assessment of laboratories are recommended as possible measures to improve the biosafety standard of pathology department.

17. Some cited References Sharma A Biomedical Waste[ Managementand handling] Rules.Suvidah Law House,Bhopha,First Eition .2018 Chitnis V,Chitnus S,Patil S,Treatment of discarded blood units;dinsinfection with hpochlorite /formalin veses steam sterilization..Indian J Med 2013,21[4];265-267. Ministryof Enviroment and Forest,Notification N.S.O.6.30.[Biomedical waste[management and handling]rules,1998.