Healthcare Facilities Hazardous Waste - HFHW
Purely Infectious Hazardous Waste - PIHW
Mixed Hazardous Waste - MHW
Other Hazardous Waste - OHW
HFHW are produced by the Health Units (HU) and are included in the list of waste in the Annex to Commission Decision 2014/955/EU of 18 December 2014, as applicable. The individual containers are sealed on site by the competent personnel. In general, their management is carried out in accordance with the General Technical Specifications of article 5 of Joint Ministerial Decision 146163/2012 and the approved internal regulations (EKDAYM) of each Health Unit.
The temporary storage of HFHW (PIHW, MHW and OHW) within the Health Unit is carried out in accordance with the EKDAYM in a suitably designed area for HFHW and necessarily in cold rooms for HFHW and MHW. The collection of HFHW is carried out at regular intervals and in accordance with Joint Ministerial Decision 146163/2012.
The collection, transport and management of Purely Infectious Hazardous Waste (PIHW), Mixed Hazardous Waste (MHW) and Other Hazardous Waste (OHW), from the cold storage of the Health Units, to the fixed treatment units of Hazardous Waste of Health Units by the sterilization method and the incineration method respectively, is carried out in accordance with Joint Ministerial Decree 146163/8-5-2012 (Government Gazette 1537/Β΄/2012) and its Annexes, as well as with any other applicable provision for the management of Healthcare Facilities Hazardous Waste (HFHW), in order to ensure a high level of protection of public human health and the environment.
The collection of Healthcare Facilities Hazardous Waste (HFHW) is carried out by the staff of the Healthcare Facility, in special containers, in accordance with the applicable legislation. The separated HFHW are placed in containers of appropriate color, depending on the treatment to be followed. PIHW to be sterilized are placed in yellow packages and HFHW to be incinerated (PIHW, MHW and OHW) are placed in red packages [Annex I, Chapter 1, Joint Ministerial Decree 146163/8-5-2012 (Government Gazette 1537/Β΄/2012)].
The collection of HFHW from the temporary storage areas of each Healthcare Facility and their placement in the transport vehicle is carried out by the staff of “GENERAL CHEMICAL APPLICATIONS LTD”.
Waste is placed separately, in distinct containers according to its quality characteristics and the method of its treatment. The separated waste is placed in appropriate containers of a specific color and characteristics according to its nature and the treatment to which it is to be subjected.
PIHW, MHW and OHW are collected separately. For the packaging of HFHW, the regulations of national and community law that apply to dangerous goods and which are based on the requirements of the European Agreement on Road Transport (Accord European relatif au transport international des merchandises Dangereuses par Route-ADR) are applied. A prerequisite for safe packaging is the classification of the waste according to its hazard, in class and UN number. The packaging bears appropriate hazard markings for easy identification of its hazard.
Indicatively, they can be collected in bags of appropriate thickness, which are not easily torn and then placed in special containers (indicatively Hospital box type) of the same color, with a capacity of 40-60 lt.
Sharp objects (disposable syringes with integrated needle, needles, knives, blades, scalpels including broken glasses) are collected in high-density designed, impervious, opaque, hard, rigid, plastic containers (except PVC), suitable for the UN, with the international symbol of the contaminant, autoclaved, with a special type of lid that closes securely. The sharps container is closed when it is three-quarters full and is placed in the Hospital Box with the other high-risk waste.
MHW and OHW liquid waste are collected in containers (drums) with a capacity of 10 - 20 liters, according to Joint Ministerial Decree 146163/2012.
In addition, HFHW containers bear the international symbol and the corresponding marking of the infectious and hazardous substance depending on the UN class in which they are classified and indicate the UN class and number in terms of their hazard, the term "Hazardous Medical Waste" and an integrated waterproof label made of indelible ink and indicate the date of production, exact location of production (e.g. chamber/department/laboratory) and quantity, category, destination of waste.