Hospital red bag waste: an assessment and management recommendations

Journal Article · Sat Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988 · JAPCA, Int, J. Air Pollut. Control Waste Manage.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6259725

Marrack, D

Chlorinated plastics (PVC) accounted for 9.4 percent of the weight of red bag, supposedly infectious, waste from two community 150- and 98-bed hospitals. The hydrochloric acid, dioxins and furans generated during the burning of this red bag waste are important air pollutants. In this waste, PVC provides much of the organic chloride for the dioxins and furans generated. Their concentrations are least in flue gases from those plants with BACT design, flue gas clean up and management techniques-the most constrained incinerators. The many manually-fed, small categorical red bag incinerators associated with hospitals have no flue gas clean-up systems and represent minimally constrained incinerators. Their toxic stack emissions are considered a significant community health hazard. The evidence that the contents of red bag waste is infectious to such a degree that it cannot be disposed of as municipal solid waste without endangering the public with infectious diseases is not reflected in the relevant hospital accreditation guidelines, Centers for Disease Control recommendations, or related literature. Public health is compromised by the lack of accountability in the handling of some hospital and veterinary wastes, specifically body fluid contaminated equipment and containers as well as microbiological materials. Recommendations to protect public health are included.

• Research Organization: Fort Bend Medical Clinic, Houston, TX (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6259725
• Journal Information: JAPCA, Int, J. Air Pollut. Control Waste Manage.; (United States), Journal Name: JAPCA, Int, J. Air Pollut. Control Waste Manage.; (United States) Vol. 38:10; ISSN JIJME
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
BUILDINGS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORINATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
COMBUSTION
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS
DIOXIN
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
FURANS
HALOGENATED ALIPHATIC HYDROCARBONS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HOSPITALS
HYDROCHLORIC ACID
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INCINERATORS
INORGANIC ACIDS
MANAGEMENT
MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENTS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
OXIDATION
POLLUTION
POLYMERS
POLYVINYLS
PVC
RECOMMENDATIONS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT