G ove r n men t Re lat ions
PDA Waste Management Guidelines
The 2018 edition of the PDA Waste Management Guidelines are available on PDA’s website: http://www.padental.org/
Online/Resources___Programs/Publications/Waste_Management_Guidelines.aspx.
This publication is designed to assist dental office personnel in identifying the types of waste produced in the dental
office, and how to properly handle and dispose of such waste. PDA strongly encourages source reduction and recycling
as preferred waste management practices; proper disposal is appropriate when recycling is not an option.
Included within the guidelines is a list of hazardous chemicals that are commonly found in the dental office, as well as the
materials they can be found in, and a list of waste handlers and the types of waste they accept.
For any questions regarding waste management in the dental office, please contact the PDA Central Office at (800) 223-0016,
or email [email protected].
Did You Know?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
requires employee training to be conducted annually, and
also whenever an employee takes on a new task or
responsibility that potentially exposes them to a workplace
hazard to which they were not previously exposed. Training
is informal, and can easily be done in office by a staff member
knowledgeable of OSHA regulations.
Any employee training should be documented, including the
dates of all training sessions and the contents of each training
program. Documentation must be retained for a minimum of
three years.
Annual training should include a review of the Bloodborne
Pathogens, Hazard Communications and General Safety
standards, which are the three OSHA standards that are cited
most often in the dental office. Specifically, training should
address:
• Epidemiology, modes of transmission and symptoms of
bloodborne diseases (Hepatitis B and C, HIV)
• Explanation of the written exposure control plan
• Recognition of tasks and activities that may involve exposure
• Methods to reduce exposure
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• Personal Protective Equipment (where it is located, when
and how to use it, and how to remove and decontaminate
or dispose of it)
• Hepatitis B vaccines (effectiveness, safety and benefits)
• Procedure in occurrence of emergency spills of blood or
other potentially infectious matter
• Procedure in occurrence of exposure incidents, including
post exposure evaluation and follow up
• System used to warn employees against biohazards
• Operations in employee work areas involving hazardous
chemicals
• Detecting the presence or release of hazardous chemicals
in the work area
• Physical and health hazards of chemicals in the work area
and how employees can protect themselves
• Reading the safety data sheets as well as where they are
located in the office
• Labeling system used to warn employees against
hazardous chemicals
For additional information regarding OSHA, please visit the
Oral Health Topics section of ADA’s website:
https://www.ada.org/en/member-center/oral-health-topics/
occupational-safety-and-health-administration.