Sharps disposal: difference between revisions
Diff·revision 15 → 16·08:32, 19 Jun 2026
Difference between revision 15 and revision 16 of Sharps disposal. 13 lines changed; the page grew by 1,544 bytes.
| Revision 15 — 22:24, 16 Jun 2026 StabilityStig (talk) add the note about drawing air before withdrawal 16,357 bytes +22 | Revision 16 — 08:32, 19 Jun 2026 StabilityStig (talk) expand §Upstream prevention 17,901 bytes +1,544 | ||
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| 109 | The regulatory patchwork is itself a documented obstacle. Reviews of community sharps management have repeatedly found that a substantial proportion of self-injecting individuals report disposing of sharps in household refuse, and have attributed this primarily to the absence of a signposted alternative rather than to disregard of the risk.{{r|who2015sharps}} | 109 | The regulatory patchwork is itself a documented obstacle. Reviews of community sharps management have repeatedly found that a substantial proportion of self-injecting individuals report disposing of sharps in household refuse, and have attributed this primarily to the absence of a signposted alternative rather than to disregard of the risk.{{r|who2015sharps}} |
| 110 | 110 | ||
| + | 111 | == Improvised containers and their failure modes == | |
| + | 112 | Where compliant containers are unavailable, improvised rigid containers are widely used and widely described in guidance with varying degrees of approval. The failure modes are specific and are worth recording because they explain why particular substitutes are singled out. | |
| + | 113 | ||
| + | 114 | * '''Plastic drink bottles''' fail on wall puncture resistance and on aperture geometry: the neck is narrow enough to require manipulation of the sharp near the opening, and the wall is thin enough for a needle to penetrate under modest force. | |
| + | 115 | * '''Glass jars''' fail because breakage converts the container into additional sharps waste. | |
| + | 116 | * '''Cardboard and thin-walled tubs''' fail on puncture resistance and on liquid retention. | |
| + | 117 | * '''Metal tins''' resist puncture but generally lack an irreversible closure and may present a cutting edge when opened. | |
| + | 118 | * '''Rigid opaque detergent containers with screw closures''' are the substitute most often tolerated in guidance where no alternative exists, on the grounds that they satisfy puncture resistance and closure even though they satisfy neither labelling nor aperture requirements.{{r|fda_sharps,htm0701}} | |
| + | 119 | ||
| 111 | == References == | 120 | == References == |
| 112 | {{reflist}} | 121 | {{reflist}} |
| ⋮ | ⋮ | ||
| 121 | <ref name="un_tdg">United Nations. ''Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods: Model Regulations'', current revision — entry UN 3291, clinical waste, unspecified, n.o.s., Class 6.2.</ref> | 130 | <ref name="un_tdg">United Nations. ''Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods: Model Regulations'', current revision — entry UN 3291, clinical waste, unspecified, n.o.s., Class 6.2.</ref> |
| 122 | <ref name="fda_sharps">US Food and Drug Administration. "Safely Using Sharps (Needles and Syringes) at Home, at Work and on Travel" — consumer and device guidance, current revision.</ref> | 131 | <ref name="fda_sharps">US Food and Drug Administration. "Safely Using Sharps (Needles and Syringes) at Home, at Work and on Travel" — consumer and device guidance, current revision.</ref> |
| + | 132 | ||
| + | 133 | == Further reading == | |
| + | 134 | * World Health Organization. ''WHO Best Practices for Injections and Related Procedures Toolkit''. Geneva (2010). | |
| + | 135 | * Prüss-Üstün A, Rapiti E, Hutin Y. "Estimation of the global burden of disease attributable to contaminated sharps injuries among health-care workers." ''American Journal of Industrial Medicine'' 48(6):482–490 (2005). | |
| 123 | 136 | ||
| 124 | == See also == | 137 | == See also == |