What Should Dental Clinics do with Carpules?

How to Treat Carpules - Best Management Practices

We work with Dental clinics regularly and often find that they are unsure of how their carpules should be handled when sealing their waste for disposal.  Here is a quick overview that should provide the guidance needed to make the appropriate choice.

Carpules containing blood should be disposed of as sharps medical waste.  They can be placed in a container with other sharps. In Kentucky, if the carpules contain residual anesthetic they should be disposed of in a container properly labeled for transport as pharmaceutical waste to a medical waste incinerator.

Remember, regular medical waste is treated by autoclave; which is high pressure steam sterilization.  Because carpules that have anesthetic still in them they should be treated as pharmaceutical waste, incineration is required.

Although this may create an additional expense for the generator properly handling your various medical waste types protects you and your waste hauler. 

For more questions regarding your sharps and medical waste call 859 780-2267. 

More information about the proper treatment of carpules from the United States Department of Labor.

If you need competent medical waste disposal service in Kentucky contact us.