68% of medical waste workers don't know if their facility will accept highly infectious waste

A study, published in American Journal of Infection Control, examined whether U.S. medical waste facilities are prepared to handle or transport category A highly infectious waste.

Researchers administered a pilot survey to workers at U.S. medical waste facilities. They also determined the current extent of training waste workers receive to handle highly infectious waste.

Here are four survey findings:

1. Sixty-eight percent of respondents indicated they had not determined if their facility would accept category A waste.

2. Of facilities that had acquired a special permit, 67 percent had yet to modify their permit since the Ebola virus outbreak.

3. The survey shows gaps in the medical waste industry's ability to handle and respond to category A waste.

4. It also shows a limited number of processing facilities are capable or willing to accept category A waste.

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