Hello-

There are already considerable issues with drugs in the water supply:

http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/html/pharmaceuticals.htm

I believe you were told to add bleach to destroy efficacy of the 
drug, but it should be disposed of in the trash, not down the sink.

Autoclaving of biohazardous trash for eventual removal in regular 
trash is an acceptable method, as long as the biohazard symbol is 
defaced or covered prior to placing in the regular trash.

Regards,
Jane



At 3:22 PM -0400 8/25/09, Patricia Peifer wrote:
>I currently work at a company which occasionally gets involved in testing
>on drug products which are derived from human blood.  We give all our lab
>employees Bloodborne Pathogen training and offer the the Hep B vaccination
>and essentially try to follow all the requirements of the BBP Standard.
>These drug products have been tested and are certified to be pathogen-free,
>but of course, there is always to remote possibility that they may not be,
>so our employees are to use the Universal Precautions when working with
>these blood-derived drugs.
>
>I have been using Stericycle to get rid of our waste which consists of
>sharps and contaminated gowns, gloves, kim wipes, etc.   I could not find
>anyone who would take leftover drug product for disposal, but a reliable
>source told me to add 10% bleach to it, let stand for 30 minutes, then
>dispose of down the drain.
>
>Here's what I'm wondering...   We are definately a small-scale generator of
>this type of waste ( the sharps and contaminated gowns, gloves, kim wipes,
>etc.)  The Stericycle service is expensive and inconvenient.  Is anyone
>else autoclaving this type of waste (apparently the red bags and red sharps
>containers are autoclavable) then placing the autoclaved waste into a
>regular trash bag and disposing in the regular trash, or for sharps,
>labeling for disposal as non-hazardous sharps after autoclaving?
>
>Thanks for any advice anyone can offer.
>
>Pat Peifer
>Project Manager, Safety & Training
>West Pharmaceutical Services
>101 Gordon Drive
>Lionville, PA  19341
>Phone:(610) 594-3278
>Fax: (610) 594-3005

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