Definition
Discarded medical sharps — such as hypodermic needles, syringes with attached needles, scalpel blades, and broken glass from medical use — that are contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious material. In aviation, they are classified as regulated medical waste and must be packaged in puncture-resistant, leak-proof, labeled containers before being carried as cargo.
Plain English
Used needles and other sharp medical items that have touched blood or body fluids. When shipped by air, they have to be sealed in special tough containers so no one gets stuck or exposed.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft, hangar, and first-aid cleanup procedures, especially after an injury or when medical waste is found onboard.
Derivation
Contaminated means made unclean or unsafe by contact with harmful material. Sharps is a safety term for sharp items that can pierce or cut skin. Together, the phrase points to the hazard: a sharp item that can injure you and may also expose you to harmful material.
Why Pilots Care
Crew and ground handlers can be injured or exposed to disease if contaminated sharps are improperly packaged. Pilots accepting cargo must verify proper labeling and packaging under HazMat rules; mishandling carries safety, legal, and health consequences.
Intuition Check
Do not assume contaminated sharps means any dirty sharp tool. In safety use, it means a sharp object that can cut or puncture skin and may carry blood or other disease-carrying material.
Example Sentence 1
The shipment was refused because the contaminated sharps were not packaged in an approved puncture-resistant container.
Example Sentence 2
Gloves and proper disposal procedures protect against injury from contaminated sharps found during cleanup.