Hospital waste management and toxicity evaluation: A case study

Journal Article · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2007 · Waste Management

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2006.04.019· OSTI ID:21023876

Tsakona, M; Anagnostopoulou, E ^[1]

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1. Laboratory of Toxic and Hazardous Waste Management, Department of Environmental Engineers, Technical University of Crete, GR-73100 Polytechnioupolis, Chania, Crete (Greece)

Hospital waste management is an imperative environmental and public safety issue, due to the waste's infectious and hazardous character. This paper examines the existing waste strategy of a typical hospital in Greece with a bed capacity of 400-600. The segregation, collection, packaging, storage, transportation and disposal of waste were monitored and the observed problematic areas documented. The concentrations of BOD, COD and heavy metals were measured in the wastewater the hospital generated. The wastewater's toxicity was also investigated. During the study, omissions and negligence were observed at every stage of the waste management system, particularly with regard to the treatment of infectious waste. Inappropriate collection and transportation procedures for infectious waste, which jeopardized the safety of staff and patients, were recorded. However, inappropriate segregation practices were the dominant problem, which led to increased quantities of generated infectious waste and hence higher costs for their disposal. Infectious waste production was estimated using two different methods: one by weighing the incinerated waste (880 kg day{sup -1}) and the other by estimating the number of waste bags produced each day (650 kg day{sup -1}). Furthermore, measurements of the EC{sub 50} parameter in wastewater samples revealed an increased toxicity in all samples. In addition, hazardous organic compounds were detected in wastewater samples using a gas chromatograph/mass spectrograph. Proposals recommending the application of a comprehensive hospital waste management system are presented that will ensure that any potential risks hospital wastes pose to public health and to the environment are minimized.

• OSTI ID: 21023876
• Journal Information: Waste Management, Journal Name: Waste Management Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 27; ISSN WAMAE2; ISSN 0956-053X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
GREECE
HEAVY METALS
HOSPITALS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE WATER