This is the second edition of the WHO handbook on the safe, sustainable and affordable management of health-care waste--commonly known as "the Blue Book". The original Blue Book was a comprehensive publication used widely in health-care centers and government agencies to assist in the adoption of national guidance. It also provided support to committed medical directors and managers to make improvements and presented practical information on waste-management techniques for medical staff and waste workers. It has been more than ten years since the first edition of the Blue Book. During the intervening period, the requirements on generators of health-care wastes have evolved and new methods have become available. Consequently, WHO recognized that it was an appropriate time to update the original text. The purpose of the second edition is to expand and update the practical information in the original Blue Book. The new Blue Book is designed to continue to be a source of impartial health-care information and guidance on safe waste-management practices. The editors' intention has been to keep the best of the original publication and supplement it with the latest relevant information. The audience for the Blue Book has expanded. Initially, the publication was intended for those directly involved in the creation and handling of health-care wastes: medical staff, health-care facility directors, ancillary health workers, infection-control officers and waste workers. This is no longer the situation. A wider range of people and organizations now have an active interest in the safe management of health-care wastes: regulators, policy-makers, development organizations, voluntary groups, environmental bodies, environmental health practitioners, advisers, researchers and students. They should also find the new Blue Book of benefit to their activities. Chapters 2 and 3 explain the various types of waste produced from health-care facilities, their typical characteristics and the hazards these wastes pose to patients, staff and the general environment. Chapters 4 and 5 introduce the guiding regulatory principles for developing local or national approaches to tackling health-care waste management and transposing these into practical plans for regions and individual health-care facilities. Specific methods and technologies are described for waste minimization, segregation and treatment of health-care wastes in Chapters 6, 7 and 8. These chapters introduce the basic features of each technology and the operational and environmental characteristics required to be achieved, followed by information on the potential advantages and disadvantages of each system. To reflect concerns about the difficulties of handling health-care wastewaters, Chapter 9 is an expanded chapter with new guidance on the various sources of wastewater and wastewater treatment options for places not connected to central sewerage systems. Further chapters address issues on economics (Chapter 10), occupational safety (Chapter 11), hygiene and infection control (Chapter 12), and staff training and public awareness (Chapter 13). A wider range of information has been incorporated into this edition of the Blue Book, with the addition of two new chapters on health-care waste management in emergencies (Chapter 14) and an overview of the emerging issues of pandemics, drug-resistant pathogens, climate change and technology advances in medical techniques that will have to be accommodated by health-care waste systems in the future (Chapter 15).

Health care waste is poorly managed at many health care facilities worldwide, creating the potential for a preventable infection risk. This publication considers how effective health care waste management policies can be implemented with relatively modest levels of effort and investment, as a component of new health care investment and promotion programmes.

This book deals with the general principles, policy instruments, sustainability of supply chain, and business of health-care waste (HCW) management including inputs on exercise in immune health defense against COVID 19. Health-care waste management is very important in any country for protection of environmental and animal and human health. The COVID-19 pandemic, in addition, has augmented this importance to a greater extent. Italy has been successful in curbing the problems related to HCW management during the COVID-19 pandemic at very fast rates from the worst situation, while for a few countries in Asia and Africa, challenges still exist. It is necessary that policy makers, researchers, and implementers gain more knowledge and information on these aspects and improve the strategies and actions. Addressing these issues will reduce the cost of health care as well as resource inefficiency hindering sustainable development goals. This book is of interest and useful to practitioners, capacity builders and policy makers, entrepreneurs, NGOs, and general people, and is a valuable source of reference to the relevant researchers and students in global markets. The book serves as a reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of environmental science, waste management, and medical science. National and international scientists as well as policy makers will also find this to be a useful read.

Master's Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject Health - Public Health, , course: MASTER OF DENTAL SURGERY, language: English, abstract: Background and objectives: Growing urbanization has led to several changes in the healthcare sector. While on one hand, access to healthcare services are being provided to the community thereby resulting in the better health for all, improper management of biomedical waste emanating from these healthcare establishments has also given rise to many environmental and health problems. Although awareness in this issue has considerably increased over the last few years, sensitivity to this problem has been limited. Most hospitals are not actively involved in addressing this problem. Also, the staffs are not trained in the proper waste management procedures. The present interventional study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about hospital waste management, to provide training programme on hospital waste management and to assess the effect of training among the staff of dental teaching hospitals in Bangalore city. Methodology: A specially prepared and pre-tested structured questionnaire was given to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices among the staff of dental teaching hospitals and collected personally. One day training programme on the hospital waste management was organized at each dental college. Intervention was evaluated by assessing improvements in their knowledge, change in attitude and practice scores after intervention in comparison to the base line scores. Results: Two months after intervention there was a 24.4% improvement in knowledge among the dentists, 18.7% improvement among auxiliaries and 23.3% improvement (p

Cover -- Half title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Preface -- Acknowledgment -- Contents -- SECTION I: INTRODUCTION -- 1. The Search for a Successful Waste Management Strategy -- 2. Regulations and Standards for Infectious and Medical Waste Management -- SECTION II: INFECTIOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT -- 3. Identification of Infectious Waste -- 4. Handling, Storage, and Transport of Infectious Waste -- 5. Treatment Considerations and Options -- 6. Steam Sterilization of Infectious Waste -- 7. Incineration of Infectious Waste -- 8. Other Treatment Technologies -- 9. Disposal of Treated Waste -- 10. Minimizing Infectious Waste -- SECTION Ill: MANAGEMENT OF OTHER MEDICAL WASTE -- 11. Antineoplastic Drugs and Other Chemical Wastes -- 12. Managing Low-Level Radioactive Waste -- 13. Wastes with Multiple Hazards -- SECTION IV: KEEPING YOUR SYSTEM GOING -- 14. Occupational Safety for Waste Management -- 15. Preparing for Hazardous Material Emergencies -- 16. Training Staff and Waste Handlers -- 17. Completing the Process: Essential Components of Effective Waste Management -- APPENDICES -- Appendix A: A Guide to the Medical Waste Tracking Regulations -- Appendix B: U.S. EPA and State Hazardous Waste Contacts -- Appendix C: Infectious Waste Management Audit -- Index

This is the second edition of the WHO handbook on the safe, sustainable and affordable management of health-care waste--commonly known as "the Blue Book". The original Blue Book was a comprehensive publication used widely in health-care centers and government agencies to assist in the adoption of national guidance. It also provided support to committed medical directors and managers to make improvements and presented practical information on waste-management techniques for medical staff and waste workers. It has been more than ten years since the first edition of the Blue Book. During the intervening period, the requirements on generators of health-care wastes have evolved and new methods have become available. Consequently, WHO recognized that it was an appropriate time to update the original text. The purpose of the second edition is to expand and update the practical information in the original Blue Book. The new Blue Book is designed to continue to be a source of impartial health-care information and guidance on safe waste-management practices. The editors' intention has been to keep the best of the original publication and supplement it with the latest relevant information. The audience for the Blue Book has expanded. Initially, the publication was intended for those directly involved in the creation and handling of health-care wastes: medical staff, health-care facility directors, ancillary health workers, infection-control officers and waste workers. This is no longer the situation. A wider range of people and organizations now have an active interest in the safe management of health-care wastes: regulators, policy-makers, development organizations, voluntary groups, environmental bodies, environmental health practitioners, advisers, researchers and students. They should also find the new Blue Book of benefit to their activities. Chapters 2 and 3 explain the various types of waste produced from health-care facilities, their typical characteristics and the hazards these wastes pose to patients, staff and the general environment. Chapters 4 and 5 introduce the guiding regulatory principles for developing local or national approaches to tackling health-care waste management and transposing these into practical plans for regions and individual health-care facilities. Specific methods and technologies are described for waste minimization, segregation and treatment of health-care wastes in Chapters 6, 7 and 8. These chapters introduce the basic features of each technology and the operational and environmental characteristics required to be achieved, followed by information on the potential advantages and disadvantages of each system. To reflect concerns about the difficulties of handling health-care wastewaters, Chapter 9 is an expanded chapter with new guidance on the various sources of wastewater and wastewater treatment options for places not connected to central sewerage systems. Further chapters address issues on economics (Chapter 10), occupational safety (Chapter 11), hygiene and infection control (Chapter 12), and staff training and public awareness (Chapter 13). A wider range of information has been incorporated into this edition of the Blue Book, with the addition of two new chapters on health-care waste management in emergencies (Chapter 14) and an overview of the emerging issues of pandemics, drug-resistant pathogens, climate change and technology advances in medical techniques that will have to be accommodated by health-care waste systems in the future (Chapter 15).

The objective of this book is to provide guidance for selecting the most appropriate options for safely managing solid waste generated at primary health care centres in developing countries. The main tool of this guide consists of six decision-trees aimed at assisting the user in identifying appropriate waste management methods. The guide takes into consideration the most relevant local conditions, the safety of workers and of the general public as well as of environmental criteria. This guide may also be used to evaluate existing practices related to health-care waste management. More detailed sources of information on handling and storage practices, technical options for treatment and disposal of wastes, training and personal protection, and assessment of a country's situation are also presented.