Sharps
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Sharps Classification
Sharps Classification
A sharp is any device having corners, edges, or projections capable of cutting or piercing the skin. LBNL's definition of sharps includes sharps regulated as medical waste, sharps with nonmedical waste materials (unregulated sharps), and unregulated uncontaminated sharps that pose a safety hazard to the custodians and other personnel.
The following items are considered sharps at LBNL and should be placed in a white sharps container (whether or not they are contaminated with medical/biohazardous waste).
Needles
Needles with Syringes
Needles from Vacutainers
Needles with Attached Tubing
Blades (Razors, Scalpels, X-acto, etc.)
The following items contaminated with medical/biohazardous waste must be placed in a sharps container:
Broken Glassware
Glassware with Sharp Edges or Points
Pasteur Pipettes
Glass Slides
The following items may be placed in a rigid container and marked with the words “Broken Glassware” and placed in the sanitary trash only if they are not contaminated with medical/biohazardous waste:
Broken Glassware
Glassware with Sharp Edges or Points
Pasteur Pipettes
Glass Slides
Sharps Containers
Sharps Containers
Sharps containers are sold in the stockroom. They should be WHITE and must be puncture-resistant and labeled as “sharps waste,” or labeled with a biohazard symbol and the word “biohazard,” or labeled as “unregulated sharps,” as specified in the following sections. Sharps containers must be placed in the laboratory near the area of sharps waste generation. Do not overfill sharps containers.
In the case of sharps contaminated with biological materials that are covered under the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard, the sharps container must be leakproof on the sides and bottom, and must be “easily accessible to personnel and located as close as feasible to the immediate area where sharps are used.”
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