Is Human Poop a Biohazard

Human poop is a biohazard. Some of the biohazards found in human feces are the following infectious diseases:

• C. diff
• cholera
• E coli
• Dysentery
• Norovirus
• Hepatitis A and E
• Giardia
• Pinworms

These infectious diseases are dangerous and can have the potential to become deadly. Human fecal matter, however, is not classified as medical waste so the additional regulations on how a state handles the material varies widely.

Dangers of Cleaning Up Human Feces

If you have to clean up human feces, it’s important to protect yourself from being infected with any diseases carried by the poop. Some of the situations you may be faced with when human feces needs to be cleaned up can include:

• human feces in a house due to illness or squatting
• Having to clean a hoarded house filled with human and animal waste
• Sewage spills
• From the homeless and/or homeless encampments
• Cleaning public bathrooms

In addition to the danger to yourself, some of the diseases human feces carry are incredibly dangerous and hard to kill. If the fecal matter is not thoroughly cleaned up and properly disposed of, someone could still get sick down the road from whatever was left behind. Many household cleaning products won’t fully kill the diseases carried by human fecal matter. Only industrial-grade cleaners can thoroughly eradicate the viruses and bacteria found in human waste.

Throwing Poop Away in the Regular Trash

Because human feces is not a regulated medical waste, it may be thrown away in the regular trash. Different states have different regulations and liability attached to that. Please check with your state for their particular rules and regulations. Depending on the situation, it may behoove you to hire a professional company to cleanup so they can assume liability.

Homeless Camps and Fecal Matter

Many homeless camps have unsanitary conditions for various reasons. Buckets are often used as stools for collecting feces. There usually isn’t running water so proper hand washing doesn’t take place. The transmission of Hepatitis A, which is a hand to mouth disease, is higher among the homeless camps.