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From:
Peter T Triolo
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 4:30 PM
To: DB Faculty; DB-Hygiene-II; DB-Hygiene-I; DB-Students-I; DB-Students-II;
DB-Students-III; DB-Students-IV
Cc: Deborah Noel
Subject: Glove disposal
To all Dental Branch
Faculty and Students:
In reviewing our Infection Control policy in the Clinic Manual 2-37, the
Quality Assurance Director with the confirmation of the Clinic Affairs
Committee has discovered that there may be unnecessary use of red "Biohazard"
bag for the disposal of gloves or gauze. According to the safety office
it is not necessary to dispose of gloves or gauze in the red Biohazard
bags unless they are severely soaked with blood. Saliva is NOT considered
medical waste. The safety office representative to the Clinic Affairs
Committee defined severely soaked as "with gentle pressure, blood
will be expelled (ooze) from the material". If blood is not "oozing"
from the gloves or gauze the materials should be placed in the regular
trash. Dried blood on gloves or gauze is acceptable for the regular trash.
Please note that the policy now reads:
2.86
Hazardous Materials
Disposal of
Waste Materials
Gloves, gauze
or other materials contaminated with blood should be placed in the biohazard
bags. Biohazard bags must be disposed of at the dispensary before
starting another patient or leaving the clinic.
A disposable material,
such as paper towels, wipes, and surface covers, should be discarded
in the plastic lined trash receptacle in the operatory.
Blood or suctioned
fluids must be placed in a biohazard bag and transported to the dispensary
for proper disposal.
All human tissues,
including biopsies and wastes, must be placed in a specimen container
within a labeled plastic transfer bag and delivered with the appropriate
documentation to the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (see
2.37 Clinical Specimens and Disinfection of Extracted Teeth and/or 3.63
Biopsy Specimens)
Thank you for your
attention to this matter.
Peter
T. Triolo, Jr.
Peter T. Triolo, Jr., DDS, MS
Associate Dean for Patient Care & Acting Chair
Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Dental Branch, Suite 142
6516 M.D. Anderson Blvd.
Houston, TX 77030
(office) 713 500-4263
(fax) 713 500-4108
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