Disposing Off Contaminated Material Safely in Microscopy Centre Laboratory Setting

The Laboratory Technician (LT) must safely discard contaminated, biohazard waste generated by tuberculosis (TB) laboratories. This waste must be discarded along with the overall waste of the health facility in which TB services are provided.

There are 2 types of waste generated from DMC laboratory settings:

1. Sputum containers with specimen and wooden sticks
2. Stained slides

Disposal of Sputum Cups with Left-over Specimen, Lids and Wooden Sticks

Figure 1: Steps for disposal of sputum cups with specimen, lids and wooden sticks

Important Points to Remember

• If autoclaving is not possible, boil in a pressure cooker of 7 litre capacity with water and submerge the contents for at least 20 minutes
• LTs and support staff handling biological waste need to wear gloves
• The red bag used for autoclaving must:  
  • Have a biohazard symbol  
  • Have adequate strength to withstand the load of the waste material 
  • Be made of non-PVC plastic material  

Disposal of Stained Slides

Figure 2: Steps for disposal of stained slides

Resources

• Training Module (1-4) for Program Managers and Medical Officer, NTEP, MoHFW, 2020.

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