Abstract
COVID-19 greatly challenges the human health sector, and has resulted in a large amount of medical waste that poses various potential threats to the environment. In this study, we compiled relevant data released by official agencies and the media, and conducted data supplementation based on earlier studies to calculate the net value of medical waste produced in the Hubei Province due to COVID-19 with the help of a neural network model. Next, we reviewed the data related to the environmental impact of medical waste per unit and designed four scenarios to estimate the environmental impact of new medical waste generated during the pandemic. The results showed that a medical waste generation rate of 0.5 kg/bed/day due to COVID-19 resulted in a net increase of medical waste volume by about 3366.99 tons in the Hubei Province. In the four scenario assumptions, i.e., if the medical waste resulting from COVID-19 is completely incinerated, it will have a large impact on the air quality. If it is disposed by distillation sterilization, it will produce a large amount of wastewater and waste residue. Based on the results of the study, we propose three policy recommendations: strict control of medical wastewater discharge, reduction and transformation of the emitted acidic gases, and attention to the emission of metallic nickel in exhaust gas and chloride in soil. These policy recommendations provide a scientific basis for controlling medical waste pollution.
Highlights
COVID-19 pandemic is threatening human health and has resulted in many indirect influences on the environment [1]
The Hubei province is the epicenter of COVID-19 in China, and the region producing the largest amount of medical waste [21]
Plot A represents the change in the number of hospital beds, where the bars represent the number of beds in tens of thousands, which is seen to increase over time
Summary
COVID-19 pandemic is threatening human health and has resulted in many indirect influences on the environment [1]. In addition to domestic waste, the rapid utilization of masks, protective clothing, and large amounts of other medical supplies has generated large amounts of infectious medical waste [4]. The disposal of these medical wastes can cause several environmental hazards, which mainly include pollution of the atmosphere, waters, and soil [5]. Due to the lack of foresight and preparation for epidemics, excess low-risk medical waste is often disposed of at domestic waste standards [6], which further aggravates the impact of medical waste on human health and the ecological environment
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