Handling Blood-Contaminated Dressings: Where Should They Be Disposed Of in the Workplace?

Dear Sirs,

Actually, I want to ask you a question. We have already placed First Aid boxes in the plant. In the event of an employee injury, the employee will conduct dressing in the plant next to the First Aid box. However, with blood-contaminated dressings, where should they be disposed of? Can this question be raised to the auditor?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Dear Mr. Bhosale,

This is pertaining to your query regarding what to do with the contaminated dressing material, especially if the dressing material is contaminated with blood and pus.

In a hospital or health clinic setup, we provide disposable bags with different color codings. Yellow bags are used for disposing of blood, pus contaminated dressing material, and other human secretory wastes.

The procedure depends on the size of your setup and the frequency of injuries. If there are frequent injuries, there will be higher chances of generating such waste. In such cases, you can use covered waste bins with yellow-colored disposable bags. These bags should be disposed of and incinerated daily. Individuals handling such bins should wear gloves to prevent infections.

Regarding your concern about whether auditors will look for such issues during audits, it is unlikely as auditors generally lack medical knowledge unless they specialize in Industrial Hygiene. I have provided advice on infection prevention and control. However, an auditor like myself may cause issues if they find blood-contaminated dressing material in open bins mixed with general waste bins. Please do not dispose of dressing material in normal waste bins. Bins containing such material should be marked hazardous and kept closed at all times.

I hope this information is helpful to you.

RP Singh (Ravi)
American Heart Association Certified Advanced Cardiac Life Support Trainer and Industrial First Aid Trainer, Health Educator
Safe Pro | Fire Fighting Training and First Aid Training
07620958102

Dear Bhosale,

As advised by Mr. RP Singh, please purchase some covered dust bins to use in your First Aid Room and wherever you have placed the First Aid Box in your factory. Kindly instruct your scavenger to clear the receptacles daily and ensure their proper destruction under supervision.

This is the practice I follow in my company in the Construction Industry.

With warm regards,

S. Bhaskar
9099024667

Dear Mr. Rajkumar,

It's a pleasure to write here regarding queries pertaining to medical and health issues. I request all members to please post more queries related to health and medical issues, and I will do my best to provide amicable solutions.

To add to the same issue, please consider providing black color plastic bags, preferably biodegradable, for general waste, blue color bags for plastic waste, and red/yellow bags for human biological waste such as pus, blood, and used dressings.

RP Singh
American Heart Association Certified BLS and ACLS Trainer, Industrial First Aid Trainer, Health Educator
Email: Safepro.ravi@gmail.com
Phone: 7620958102

Dear Sir,

Thank you for the clear explanation. I have a few queries after reading through the entire write-up:

1. What should be the disposal method?
2. The color coding you mentioned, is it based on a specific standard? Is it applicable in India?
3. How many colored waste bins should be kept in an industry/factory based on its status?

I appreciate your help in advance.

Thank you, SSB, for initiating this topic for discussion in the forum. Let's continue to participate and share/gain knowledge.

Color Coding for Waste Disposal in India

In any kind of factory or hospital in India, four types of color coding are used:

- Red Color: For Solid Waste
- Yellow Color: Human Anatomical Waste
- Black Color: Discarded Medicine
- Blue Color: Waste Sharp

Regards,

Dear Mr. Dipil,

Thank you for your comment. Before I could write something about color coding of disposable bags, I see that Mr. Bhosale has already covered it.

A few additional points that he did not mention, which I would like to highlight, are that for industries with a Medical Inspection (MI) Room or Occupational Health Centre (OHC), all four colored bags are essential. However, if it is only a matter of disposing dressing materials occasionally, then only yellow colored bags are required. It is recommended to use a waste bin with a lid, preferably foot-operated, and line the inner side of the bin with these bags.

Daily disposal should be handled with care by the handler wearing gloves, and these bags should be incinerated (burned) afterward.

These standards are in line with international guidelines adopted by the Pollution Control Board of India, specifically for the disposal of biomedical waste. This is a significant issue as hospitals are facing numerous challenges due to strict regulations from the PCB regarding hospital waste disposal. Biomedical waste must not be mixed with general waste as it poses a serious health hazard.

The rest of the color coding information aligns with what Mr. Bhosale has mentioned.

RP Singh (Ravi)
American Heart Association Certified Advanced Cardiac Life Support Trainer, Industrial First Aid, Health Educator
Email: safepro.ravi@gmail.com
Phone: 7620958102