Diversified Medical Services | 5
generated by health-care activities is haz-
ardous material that can be infectious, toxic
or radioactive. This includes the bandages,
dressings, tissue cultures, diagnostic samples,
body fluids & organs, chemicals, pharmaceu-
ticals and heavy metals such as the mercury
that leaks from a broken thermometer.
There have been cases which make clear
the dangers in medical waste. For example,
six children in Russia contracted a mild
form of smallpox after discovering and play-
ing with discarded glass ampoules which had
contained expired smallpox vaccine. In Mex-
ico, Morocco, Brazil and Algeria, there have
also been documented cases of death and in-
jury in the form of radiation burns resulting
from human contact with discarded materi-
als associated with radiotherapy treatments.
Medical waste can also be comprised
by “sharps,” – the needles, syringes, dispos-
able scalpels and other medical implements.
WHO asserts some 16 billion injections are
annually administeredworldwide, but not all
the needles or syringes are properly disposed,
leaving potentially harmful microorganisms
which can infect hospital patients, health-
care staffs as well as the general public. Dur-
ing a study conducted in 2000, WHO found
