In many guidelines, all waste contaminated with blood or body fluids is classified as biomedical waste. This enormously increases the volume of waste requiring expensive handling and disposal. Identical items of waste are disposed of from homes with no special handling or decontamination. The identification of every client who carries a bloodpathogen including, but not limited to, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is both impractical and inappropriate. The modern trend in health care infection prevention and control is to build safe practices into all clinical procedures; the precaution taken is dictated by the risk accompanying the procedure, not by the diagnosis.

This Standard is based on two premises:

(a) The simple presence of viable organisms does not constitute a hazard; a mechanism by which these organisms can infect a host must coexist. Since hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV are usually transmitted by inoculation, the concern with blood, for example, is misplaced. The emphasis should more appropriately be applied to the category of sharps. Infections acquired by waste handlers are rare and almost always associated with trauma. Vigorous efforts directed toward the prevention of these injuries deserve high priority; the incidence of both the wounds and accompanying infections can be reduced dramatically by adherence to safe procedures.

(b) Absolute elimination of all risk is impossible. A realistic goal is the attainment of a reasonable degree of safety at all times without needlessly compromising efficiency.