Composition and production rate of pharmaceutical and chemical waste from Xanthi General Hospital in Greece
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, GR-671 00 Xanthi (Greece)
Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We studied pharmaceutical and chemical waste production in a Greek hospital. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Pharmaceutical waste comprised 3.9% w/w of total hazardous medical waste. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Unit production rate for total pharmaceutical waste was 12.4 {+-} 3.90 g/patient/d. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Chemical waste comprised 1.8% w/w of total hazardous medical waste. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Unit production rate for total chemical waste was 5.8 {+-} 2.2 g/patient/d. - Abstract: The objective of this work was to determine the composition and production rates of pharmaceutical and chemical waste produced by Xanthi General Hospital in Greece (XGH). This information is important to design and cost management systems for pharmaceutical and chemical waste, for safety and health considerations and for assessing environmental impact. A total of 233 kg pharmaceutical and 110 kg chemical waste was collected, manually separated and weighed over a period of five working weeks. The total production of pharmaceutical waste comprised 3.9% w/w of the total hazardous medical waste produced by the hospital. Total pharmaceutical waste was classified in three categories, vial waste comprising 51.1%, syringe waste with 11.4% and intravenous therapy (IV) waste with 37.5% w/w of the total. Vial pharmaceutical waste only was further classified in six major categories: antibiotics, digestive system drugs, analgesics, hormones, circulatory system drugs and 'other'. Production data below are presented as average (standard deviation in parenthesis). The unit production rates for total pharmaceutical waste for the hospital were 12.4 (3.90) g/patient/d and 24.6 (7.48) g/bed/d. The respective unit production rates were: (1) for vial waste 6.4 (1.6) g/patient/d and 13 (2.6) g/bed/d, (2) for syringe waste 1.4 (0.4) g/patient/d and 2.8 (0.8) g/bed/d and (3) for IV waste 4.6 (3.0) g/patient/d and 9.2 (5.9) g/bed/d. Total chemical waste was classified in four categories, chemical reagents comprising 18.2%, solvents with 52.3%, dyes and tracers with 18.2% and solid waste with 11.4% w/w of the total. The total production of chemical waste comprised 1.8% w/w of the total hazardous medical waste produced by the hospital. Thus, the sum of pharmaceutical and chemical waste was 5.7% w/w of the total hazardous medical waste produced by the hospital. The unit production rates for total chemical waste for the hospital were 5.8 (2.2) g/patient/d and 1.1 (0.4) g/exam/d. The respective unit production rates were: (1) for reagents 1.7 (2.4) g/patient/d and 0.3 (0.4) g/examination/d, (2) for solvents 248 (127) g/patient/d and 192 (101) g/examination/d, (3) for dyes and tracers 4.7 (1.4) g/patient/d and 2.5 (0.9) g/examination/d and (4) for solid waste 54 (28) g/patient/d and 42 (22) g/examination/d.
- OSTI ID:
- 21612996
- Journal Information:
- Waste Management, Vol. 32, Issue 7; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2012.01.027; PII: S0956-053X(12)00041-4; Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0956-053X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ANALGESICS
ANTIBIOTICS
CHEMICAL WASTES
COST
DESIGN
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
GREECE
HORMONES
HOSPITALS
PATIENTS
SAFETY
SOLID WASTES
SOLVENTS
THERAPY
ANTI-INFECTIVE AGENTS
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CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AGENTS
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DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
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MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENTS
MEDICINE
NONRADIOACTIVE WASTES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
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