Medical Waste Management In Greece:The Case Of Thessaly Region

Abstract

The main objective of this study is the evaluation of medical waste management in Thessaly region, Greece. Nowadays, medical waste treatment and disposal is one of the most important problems in many countries. The reason is simple. Medical waste and specifically infectious medical waste disposal could be extremely dangerous, especially if it is not controlled, according to the basic principles of waste management. Our research was carried out in the 5 hospitals (1 university and 4 general hospitals) that operate in the region of Thessaly and our findings have shown that most of hospitals use the method of steam sterilization in a mobile treatment unit for their waste treatment. More specifically, private companies, which deal with medical waste treatment, visit the hospitals once per week and sterilize the waste in the mobile unit. On the other hand, the university hospital uses the method of incineration for its waste treatment. Regarding the incinerator, it should be noticed that it is a double chamber incinerator. The primary combustion chamber is used for the waste incineration and the secondary combustion chamber is used for the incineration of the fumes. This incinerator operates without the necessary equipment for the air pollution minimization. The medical wastes that are produced in the other medical facilities in the region are disposed without specific care for the environment. It is the outcome of our research that planning about the optimal medical waste management is essential in the effort to achieve an integrated medical waste management according to the principles of sustainable development.