Removed probes should be treated as ______.

Removed probes should be treated as ______.

• A. Nonhazardous waste
• B. Medical waste
• C. Biohazard sharps
• D. Sharps waste

Answer: (C)

Waste from contaminated sharp instruments is classified by the hazard they carry, not just by being sharp. When a probe has contacted biological material, it becomes a sharp that also poses an infectious hazard, so it must be treated as biohazard sharps. This means disposing it in a puncture‑resistant sharps container and labeling it with the biohazard symbol, following proper biohazard waste procedures. Nonhazardous waste would ignore the contamination and infection risk. Medical waste is a broader category and doesn’t specifically pinpoint the infectious hazard and the need for a sharps container. Sharps waste is too generic and doesn’t convey the biological risk.

Waste from contaminated sharp instruments is classified by the hazard they carry, not just by being sharp. When a probe has contacted biological material, it becomes a sharp that also poses an infectious hazard, so it must be treated as biohazard sharps. This means disposing it in a puncture‑resistant sharps container and labeling it with the biohazard symbol, following proper biohazard waste procedures.

Nonhazardous waste would ignore the contamination and infection risk. Medical waste is a broader category and doesn’t specifically pinpoint the infectious hazard and the need for a sharps container. Sharps waste is too generic and doesn’t convey the biological risk.