<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Medical waste is mostly generated by health care centres and veterinary, research and pharmacological facilities as well as laboratories. As the number people using home treatment rises from year to year, and the number of aesthetic medicine offices increases, the problem of potentially hazardous waste affects an increasingly larger population, and can no longer be restricted to the qualified hospital staff. Medical waste falls within the group of hazardous waste since it poses environmental threat of epidemiological contamination with pathogens and pathogenic bacteria. The article presents the classification and properties of medical waste and their impact on the environment. The legal status regarding the utilization of such waste in Poland was discussed as well.</p></abstract>

Medical waste is mostly generated by health care centres and veterinary, research and pharmacological facilities as well as laboratories. As the number people using home treatment rises from year to year, and the number of aesthetic medicine offices increases, the problem of potentially hazardous waste affects an increasingly larger population, and can no longer be restricted to the qualified hospital staff. Medical waste falls within the group of hazardous waste since it poses environmental threat of epidemiological contamination with pathogens and pathogenic bacteria. The article presents the classification and properties of medical waste and their impact on the environment. The legal status regarding the utilization of such waste in Poland was discussed as well.

Management of medical and veterinary waste - legal regulations, threats to people and the environment and methods of disposal

Environmental Protection and Natural Resources

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Medical waste is mostly generated by health care centres and veterinary, research and pharmacological facilities as well as laboratories. As the number people...

Management of medical and veterinary waste - legal regulations, threats to people and the environment and methods of disposal

Published Online: Jun 30, 2020

Page range: 6 - 16

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/oszn-2020-0006

Keywords
medical waste, regulation, human and environmental threats, utilization

© 2020 Małgorzata Czarny-Działak et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Management of medical and veterinary waste - legal regulations, threats to people and the environment and methods of disposal

Published Online: Jun 30, 2020

Page range: 6 - 16

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/oszn-2020-0006

Keywordsmedical waste, regulation, human and environmental threats, utilization

© 2020 Małgorzata Czarny-Działak et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
medical waste, regulation, human and environmental threats, utilization