Storage of Medical Waste

In case of producing medical waste up to 50 kilograms per day, medical waste producers are responsible for transporting temporary medical waste containers to the nearest or most suitable medical waste temporary depot / container if they produce medical waste up to 1 kilogram per day, or for delivering these wastes to the medical waste transportation vehicle.

In the medical waste sterilization facilities, a larger and more comprehensive depot must be established. Medical waste is temporarily suspended until it is eliminated and harmless.These warehouses must have certain characteristics determined by the ministry.

Features;

• • In health organizations, the volume of the warehouse should be at least two days of waste.
  • In the medical waste sterilization facilities, the volume of the warehouse should be sufficient to receive at least one week of waste.
  • The base and walls of the tank should be covered with a material that is solid, impermeable, that does not contain microorganisms and dirt, that is easy to clean and disinfect. There should be adequate lighting in the warehouses.
  • Passive ventilation system should be present in non-refrigerated tanks.
  • The door of the warehouse should be orange colored, so that it can be seen on and black colored “International Bio Hazard” emblem and black colored caution “medical waste phrase”. The door should always be clean and painted.
  • The storage door should be opened out or driven. Should be comfortable to use.
  • Storage door should always be kept closed and locked, except for use of unauthorized persons should not be allowed to enter.
  • The storehouse and its door must be established in such a way that no animal will enter.
  • The inside and the doors of the depot should be installed in the sizes where the personnel in charge can work easily, waste can be emptied easily, stored and loaded.
  • Food storage, preparation and sales places should not be established near places where intensive human and patient traffic such as the entrance and exit of the health care institution.
  • Cleaning and disinfection of the tank should be done using the appropriate disinfectant.Grid drainage system and water tap should not be in the tank.
  • The depot must be cleaned, disinfected and disinfected after the waste is discharged. In the event that the waste is disposed of by a medical waste, the medical waste must be collected with the appropriate equipment, and the liquid waste must be concentrated with the appropriate absorbent material, then placed in the medical waste bag and the waste should be disinfected immediately along with the equipment used.
  • Cleaning materials, special clothing and protective equipment, medical waste bags, containers, buckets and containers should be kept close to the storage area. The follow-up chart should be hung in such a way that it can be seen out of the tank with clean and disinfection instructions.
  • The storage should not be used for other purposes than temporary storage of medical waste.