Clinical waste disposal carries with it a risk of serious and possibly life-threatening infection. This was studied combining confidential questionnaires, structured interviews with discrete observation. With particular attention to glove use and hand hygiene and supplemented by review of group-wide accident and incident records.
Deficiencies in glove selection and use, and in hand hygiene, were noted despite extensive and on-going training and supervision of waste handlers. Though ballistic puncture-resistant gloves protect against sharps injury, these were uncomfortable in use and were sometimes rejected by waste handlers who preferred thin-walled nitrile gloves that were more comfortable in use though provide no resistance to penetrating injury.
Among the waste handlers working for a single specialist waste disposal company, sharps injuries (n = 40) occurred at a rate of approximately 1 per 29 000 man hours. Injuries were caused by hypodermic needles from improperly closed or overfilled sharps boxes (n = 6) or from sharps incorrectly discarded into thin-walled plastic sacks intended only for soft wastes (n = 34). Most injuries occurred to the fingers or hands.
No seroconversions occurred, though two individuals suffered anxiety/stress disorder necessitating prolonged leave of absence with professional counselling and support. Glove use and hand hygiene must feature prominently in the on-going training of waste handlers.
Though ballistic gloves afford protection against sharps injury, the initial segregation and safe disposal of clinical wastes by healthcare professionals must provide the primary control measure. Further improvement in the standards of waste segregation and disposal by healthcare professionals are still required to protect ancillary and support staff and waste handlers working in the disposal sector.
Source: Sharps Injuries in Healthcare Waste Handlers
J. I. Blenkharn , and C. Odd
Sharps Injuries in Healthcare Waste Handlers
Annals of Occupational Hygiene Advance Access published on June 1, 2008, DOI 10.1093/annhyg/men010.
Ann Occup Hyg 52: 281-286.
I have experience of witnessing such injuries on a train station I used to work. The cleaning staff were never adequately supplied with protective gear to tackle with hypodermic needles. I wonder whats the data like on infected people.
By: hersh bhardwaj on Monday, 18 August , 2008
at 12:03 pm