autoclaving:
Biohazardous waste and full sharps containers may be autoclaved by your institution. If this is something that is performed in your department, information about autoclaving is pertinent to you. To quality control the autoclave, a vial of Bacillus stearothemophilus is autoclaved and should then be incubated at 56 degrees Celsius. Biohazard waste bags are red bags placed within clear autoclave bags to be autoclaved. Autoclave tape is added, and will change from white to black to show that the materials have been autoclaved. Autoclaving materials occurs for at least 15 minutes at 15 pounds of pressure and is necessary in order to kill spores, as it is the only method that will truly kill spores, such as those produced by Bacillus spp and Clostridium spp bacteria.