Procedures for Preventing Infection

 Engineering Controls 

Engineering controls are the things used for controlling and preventing the spread of infection. An infection is something that makes a person sick. An infection is caused by germs. A person can get infected by being exposed to germs at the workplace or at school.

There are engineering controls at workplaces and schools. Personal and protective equipment; latex free disposable gloves, goggles, face masks, hair nets, and gowns are all types of engineering controls for controlling the spread of the germs that make people sick. 

There are also some engineering controls that are not personal and protective equipment but are still good for keeping people healthy and feeling good.

Biohazard sharps containers are a place to put things like needles or other sharp objects that are exposed to blood. Nurses, doctors, or other workers who have jobs where they could be exposed to blood because they work with needles will have a biohazard sharps container to put needles when they are finished using the needles. 

A biohazard sharps container is not the same as a biohazard waste bag. What is the difference between a biohazard sharps container and a biohazard waste bag? Good question. A biohazard waste bag is for objects that are not sharp but have blood on them. For example, if any PPE gets blood or other potentially hazardous material on it, it should be disposed of, or put into the biohazard waste bag or waste container. 

Gloves, goggles, paper towels, masks, or any other object that gets blood on it becomes a biohazard because it could make another person sick. However, gloves, goggles, paper towels, masks are not sharp and cannot cut a person like needles or sharp objects like broken glass. So these objects, if they have blood on them, do not go into a biohazard sharps container.