Gerenciamento dos resíduos de serviços de saúde: uma questão de biossegurança

The subject of “health services waste” is controversial and widely discussed. Biosafety, the principles of which include safeguarding occupational health, community health, and environmental safety, is directly involved in the issue of
medical waste management. There are controversies as to the risks posed by medical waste, as
evidenced by diverging opinions among authors: some advocate severe approaches on the
basis that medical waste is hazardous, while
others contend that the potential for infection
from medical waste is nonexistent. The Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) has published resolution RDC 33/2003 to
standardize medical waste management nationwide. There is an evident need to implement
biosafety procedures in this area, including
heath care workers’ training and provision of
information to the general population.