Transforming Your Business By Going Green

Most people don't come into contact with hazardous materials every day, but many people have the pleasure of dealing with it in their line of work, as a byproduct of a project they're trying to complete, or by accident. There are a lot of ways you can dispose of such waste poorly, and only a few ways to do it properly, and without the right training you might not know which is which. Here are some of the dangers of not hiring the right people to dispose of hazardous waste.

Biohazards

A biohazard is anything that was once alive or part of a living thing. Your mother probably told you as a child not to touch dead animals because they were full of germs, and she was right. Decaying organic material like what's left after your cat goes on a rampage through a bird nest can contain bacteria and viruses, like West Nile virus, that can infect humans

Human remains can be even worse, since all the bacteria and viruses carried by them can infect you. In places besieged by the Ebola epidemic, human remains are highly contagious. This is counter to what has been known about most viruses, which fall to imperceptible levels after death. Other viruses remain active until bodily fluids have dried, and can include the HIV virus, and bacteria that can cause infection proliferate after death. Puerperal fever is an example of what can happen when bacteria from the dead are transferred to the living. This bacteria created an epidemic that took the lives of many women directly after childbirth because doctors were simply not washing their hands.

Where biohazards are present it is absolutely imperative that you hire professionals to reduce or eliminate any risk of disease transmission.

Radioactive Waste

Thankfully, most people will only ever come into contact with radioactive materials if they choose to be involved in a line of work that deals with them. If you choose such a career, it is important that you understand what radiation can do to the human body, primarily so you don't ever take the disposal of radioactive waste lightly. Symptoms of radiation exposure include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Hair loss
• Internal hemorrhage

In addition, radiation exposure is a known human carcinogen, meaning that it causes cancer. Never take the disposal of radioactive waste as anything but a serious matter.

Hazardous waste disposal is always best performed by the professionals, with specialized training.