On-the-job health risks
Medical waste has usually come into contact with human biological excreta; and every human being, even the healthiest among us, is a carrier of infections. Doctors themselves can fall prey to these infections, but the chance of this happening depends largely on the practices established within a given healthcare system. 
According to an ordinance of the Georgian Ministry of Healthcare, sharp medical instruments must be disinfected and disintegrated after use. Tragically, injuries do occur frequently during this process, resulting in medical personnel contracting various infections, and the institutional management project was developed to help address this problem as well.
One victim of this particular problem is Marina Kvatchadze, a doctor/therapist in Batumi who contracted Hepatitis C while practising professionally, and whose daughter contracted the same disease three years later. It is possible that the disease spread through the shared use of an epilator.
“I see no solution,” said a despairing Kvatchadze. “I feel guilty toward my daughter; as I am a doctor and failed to secure her, to protect her from the threat. Because of this disease, the life of a 26-year-old girl is ruined, and she is utterly desperate.”
Nestan Shervashidze, the epidemiologist participating in the project, also suffered a minor injury while disintegrating syringes. According to the health professional, used sharp instruments should be first placed in a disposable container without having to disintegrate and disinfect them. This, Shervashidze argues, would reduce the risk of doctors coming into contact with the used instruments.
In addition to protecting medical personnel, the new medical waste management system is more cost-efficient, as disposable containers are comparatively inexpensive. No disinfection procedure is required when a syringe is placed inside a container and later taken to the Gonio dumpsite facility for incineration.
