Composition Of Medical Waste Research Articles

Generation and Composition of Medical Waste in Lafia

Background: Effective management of medical waste is a prerequisite for efficient delivery of healthcare services, human health and environmental protection; and the availability of adequate data with regard to medical waste generation and composition is generally considered to be fundamental in the development of efficient medical waste management. However, in Lafia, the state capital of Nasarawa State, Nigeria and a rapidly developing town, there is inadequate information on the medical waste generation and composition. This study thus sets to evaluate the medical waste composition and generation in Lafia by direct observation during both rainy and dry seasons Methodology: The study involved the survey of a cross section of three (3) tertiary health institution. Findings: The study showed that there is significant variation in healthcare waste management practices and sustainability factors (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) (3Rs). The test showed that there prominent method of healthcare waste management at the studied institution was practice of incineration, pit burning and burying and frequency of waste disposal, leaving out other new and improved technologies for proper waste managements. This study aims to evaluate the medical waste generation and composition in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria across public and private hospitals. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: It is anticipated that the outcome of this research will avail resourceful data that will be needed for effective hospital waste management and other planning and design works.

Development of a decision support tool for choosing the optimal medical waste management scenario using waste flow analysis and life cycle cost

Every year, healthcare centers such as hospitals produce millions of metric tons of medical waste. The effective management of medical waste is crucial due to its environmental consequence, so decision-making tools are necessary for this purpose in various aspects, including cost-benefit balance. In this study official data on the quantity and composition of medical waste in five hospitals in Tehran were analyzed. An economic model based on the cost of hospital waste management steps from storage to disposal was used to interpret the situation. Different scenarios of waste management were defined by the variables of segregation ratio and disinfection types. The results showed that in the studied hospitals, on average 3600 kg/day of solid waste was generated, of which 52.53 % was infectious waste and 1.58 % was chemical and pharmaceutical waste. The ratio of collection, disinfection, and transportation in the total costs of hospital waste management was 12.3, 67.3, and 16.5 %, respectively. The effect of change in segregation ratio and change in the location of disinfection in the cost of hospital waste management was 16 % and 37 %, respectively. Also, reducing the emission of pollutants such as PAHs into the indoor air was one of the consequences of changing the studied approach in the scenarios. Hospitals and health policymakers could use these results to implement more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable hospital waste management strategies.

A Model for Predicting Medical Solid Waste in Hilla City, Iraq

Introduction: To improve current practices and create the most effective healthcare waste treatment system, solid medical waste composition needs to be analyzed. This study aims to develop models to predict the rate of medical waste production in hospitals in Hilla city, Iraq. Predictive mode can be used to set standards, evaluate current methods for treating and disposing medical waste, and optimize healthcare solid waste management systems.
 Materials and Methods: Predictive models and long-term data on the composition and rate of solid medical waste generation were developed using a longitudinal study design. A standardized questionnaire and weighted scale were used to measure solid medical waste generated from the five public hospitals. Statistics were used to create models predicting the amount of waste generated at each hospital.
 Results: These models demonstrated a significant correlation between inpatient and outpatient numbers and waste generation. Different hospitals treat different numbers of inpatients and outpatients. Different models have been created based on various types of hospitals.
 Conclusion: Linear rule-based models accurately represent the weights of variables, identify the sources and implications of solid medical waste, and control waste levels by using a variety of parameters. The research model can help in the development of an effective strategic plan for setting up a medical solid waste (MSW) management system.

ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЕ МОЩНОСТИ УСТАНОВКИ РОТОРНОГО ТИПА ПО ПЕРЕРАБОТКЕ МЕДИЦИНСКИХ ОТХОДОВ

The article considers the rationale for the required power of rotary-type machines for the processing of medical waste. The problem statement is formulated as follows: to develop an analytical method for calculating the power of rotary devices for waste processing. An analysis of the morphological and structural composition of medical waste made it possible to identify enlarged groups of waste, for the processing of which both cutting with a blade and crushing are used. The calculation procedure was performed for a rotary system consisting of a traverse carrying four horizontal and one U-shaped vertical knives. Due to the peculiarity of the medium being processed (medical waste), it is impossible to use the theoretical and practical experience gained during processing with cutters with chip removal from the surface of the material. The value of the critical cutting force depends on the sharpness of the blade and the breaking contact stress, which can be determined through the reduced breaking contact stress for a group of materials subject to cutting failure. When determining the critical cutting force, it must be taken into account that not the entire length of the blade is involved in the cutting process, since the medical waste loaded into the sterilization chamber has a low bulk density, which changes with time. In the presented technique, the power spent on grinding by cutting is found by integrating along the length of the cutting edge and taking into account the presence of two cutting blades. In addition to the power spent on grinding, in the process of cutting with a blade, there are power losses associated with the movement of the cut material along the bevels of the blade, depending on the thickness of the cut layer, the modulus of elasticity and the Poisson's ratio of the material being processed. The proposed method takes into account that the grinding of brittle materials that make up medical waste is carried out during processing not by cutting, but by crushing. Since the mixing process is combined with the grinding process during the processing of medical waste, the rotating rotor plays the role of a paddle mixer. In turn, the power expended on mixing depends on the resistance force acting on the elementary area of the blade, as well as on the rotation speed. Thus, in the processing of medical waste, the total power costs are defined as the sum of the power costs for grinding and mixing. The obtained analytical expressions make it possible at the design stage not only to choose the rational drive power, but also to justify the variable rotor speed.

Investigation of various medical wastes and its impact on environmental pollution

Medical waste is not given enough attention in India, which is one of the fastest economically developing countries in the world. The handling and disposal of sanitary ware by municipal employees, the public, and the great health of the environment creates risks. The amount and composition of medical waste will serve as a basis for a successful management plan if adequate and accurate information is available. Only 41 percent of medical waste disposal workers are properly trained, and only 38.9 percent of medical waste is properly divided. Medical waste made up of plastic products accounts for about 35 percent of the total. This is a sustainable resource recovery and recycling opportunity. More than enough infectious waste remains to prevent a storage catastrophe. Compliance with medical waste environmentally sustainable management in all countries is essential. There is currently no national law in place to govern medical waste management in India, but its 13 regional governments have adopted terms related to the management of medical waste for both health and environmental protection. Spanish regional law studies have yielded positive results in this article. Some differences in criteria were discovered in our study of sorting, collection, storage, transport, treatment, and removal procedures.

Approximate standards for the generation of class B medical waste at the present stage

Closely related to the development of the healthcare system is the trend toward an increase in medical waste. Updating the indicative standards for the generation of class B medical waste is necessary for the correct operation of all sequential processes for handling medical waste. Predicting the amount of class B waste generation makes it possible to optimize work in medical organizations and reduce risks to the health of staff and patients. In this work, we noted a significant increase in the generation of medical waste of class B in multidisciplinary hospitals and Outpatient clinics in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, as well as an increase in the fraction of plastic in the composition of medical waste, a statistical evaluation of the results was carried out and indicative standards for the formation of medical waste of class B were proposed. data on indicative standards for waste generation in departments are extremely relevant due to the different fractional and morphological composition of waste, an extremely high potential infectious risk (including the spread of multidrug-resistant strains) in a number of them, for example, in intensive care units, hemodialysis, and surgery.

Associated factors of medical waste management practices in developing countries: a review

The heterogeneous composition of medical waste (MW) has continuously posed challenges with its management, with efforts concentrating primarily on treatment and disposal solutions. This has left a legacy of issues, especially in developing nations. The aim of this study was to examine the associated factors of medical waste management (MWM) practices in healthcare facilities in developing nations. Through a literature review of existing studies on (MW) definitions, and factors associated with its management, from regulation and policy formulation to disposal, the study identified factors such as poor regulatory frameworks, poor training, poor financing, poor infrastructure and low technological advancement, and influence of social factors, e.g., cultural norms as key issues. This paper has viewed the challenges of MWM in developing countries to be more of a management issue than a technological issue and has identified routine management approaches within an integrated sustainable MWM framework to drive improvements in MWM programmes.

Modelling, Composition and production rate of medical solid waste in Tikrit: A case study of Tikrit Teaching Hospital (TTH) in Iraq

Tikrit Teaching Hospital (TTH), Tikrit, Iraq, was selected for investigation as a case study. Data collection was carried out during TTH visits and by questionnaires. Sampling was performed during a 10-month period, one week each sampling month. The medical waste analyzed was comprised of 63.04% general waste (non-risk) and 36.96% hazardous waste. The results indicated that the medical waste generation rate is 0.9 kg/bed.day and 0.75 kg/patient.day. Statistically significant linear correlations were established between the daily production of medical solid waste and the respective number of patients and the occupied beds in TTH as whole. Based on the average daily production of medical solid waste produced by the departments of TTH (kg /d), the larger producer of general medical solid waste was obstetric department with average daily production of 25 kg/d, while the larger producer of hazardous medical solid waste was obstetric department with average daily production of 11 kg/d. The average specific weight of total medical waste, general waste, and hazardous waste were determined to be 218.6, 206.5 and 225.54 kg/m3, respectively. The average moisture content of total medical waste, general waste, and hazardous waste were determined to be 21, 20.4 and 23.4 %, respectively. The average general medical waste composition was: 40% organics, 21% plastics, 19% paper, 11% glass and 9% metals. Pathological wastes and sharp objects comprised 43% and 25% of the hazardous medical waste components.

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on medical waste management: a case study

Covid-19 Pandemic leads to medical services for the society all over the world. The Covid-19 pandemic influence the waste management and specially medical waste management. In this study, the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak on medical waste was evaluated via assessing the solid waste generation, composition, and management status in five hospitals in Iran. The results indicated that the epidemic Covid-19 leads to increased waste generation on average 102.2 % in both private and public hospitals. In addition, the ratio of infectious waste in the studied hospitals increased by an average of 9 % in medical waste composition and 121 % compared with before COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in plans and management measurement such as increasing the frequency of waste collection per week leads to lower the risk of infection transmission from medical waste in the studied hospitals. The results obtained from the present research clearly show the changes in medical waste generation and waste composition within pandemic Covid-19. In addition, established new ward, Covid-19 ward with high-infected waste led to new challenges which should be managed properly by change in routine activities.

Implementation of One Health Program by Improving Waste Management on Universitas Widya Husada Semarang (UWHS) Campus

The concept of One Health was adopted by WHO for the global flu program as well as the pandemic due to coronavirus (Covid 19) which is also related to animals, and the relationship to the humans. Universitas Widya Husada Semarang (UWHS) is one of the educational institutions in the field of health sciences. Current practical activities generate medical and non-medical waste, should be managed appropriately to prevent and reduce the environment pollution. This research objective is to describe the waste management in relation with the implementation of One Health program. Data collection is conducted by interviewing laboratory personnel, observation and measurement of the weight, volume and composition of medical waste, from 8 laboratory rooms. Weight measurement for 12 months, 7 months before pandemic and 5 months after pandemic. The average weight of medical waste in UWHS before the pandemic is 3-5 kg every month and about 1 kg during the pandemic. The waste consists of syringes, needles, plabot infuses, infuse hoses, injection cases, injection cotton and rubber gloves. The incineration of hazardous waste carried out by third party. In order to realize the concept of one health, waste management must be strictly guarded to ensure waste management properly.

QUANTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MEDICAL WASTE IN PUBLIC HEALTH CARE FACILITIES WITHIN AKURE METROPOLIS, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the quantity and rate of medical waste generation in purposely selected public hospitals located within Akure metropolis of Ondo State and determined the characteristics of the waste generated. The quantity of medical waste generated was measured daily in kg per day, kg per bed per day, and kg per patient per day while, the physical and chemical characteristics were determined according to standard methods. This study indicated that the quantity of medical waste generated by Ondo State Specialist Hospital Akure, and Mother and Child Hospital Akure were 124.5 kg/day and 0.44 kg/patient/day. Over two-thirds were general waste while the remainder (30.9%) were considered to be infectious and hazardous wastes. The result obtained from physical characterization of the medical waste revealed that the percentage of moisture content and bulk density of cellulose in the medical waste composition exceed other components of the waste. However, from proximate analysis of the medical waste, cellulose has the highest percentage of fixed carbon, volatile matter and ash while the result obtained from ultimate analysis indicated that the percentage content of hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, oxygen and carbon is higher than that of other composition of medical waste.

Generation and composition of waste from medical histopathology laboratories

The aim of this work was to record the quantities and composition of medical waste (MW) generated by public and private medical histopathology laboratories (HISTOLB) and to provide pertinent waste generation design coefficients (e.g. g/examinee) for those laboratories. This can be a useful coefficient when designing medical waste treatment facilities. The study was conducted on three public and four private HISTOLBs in the city of Thessaloniki (Greece) for a period of 5 months. One sampling week was selected randomly per month. During the study period, the examinees per week were 108 and 90 in the public and private HISTOLBs, respectively. According to the results, 57% of the total MW generated in both the public and private laboratories were toxic waste (TXW), namely the liquid formaldehyde that is used to preserve the tissue. The mixed hazardous waste (MHW) comprised 28% and 24%, respectively, of the total MW, in the public and private facilities, respectively. The infectious waste constituted around 15% of the total MW generated in both types of facilities. Urban type waste was always less than 4% by weight. The total mean MW generated in the public and private laboratories were 208 ± 543 (n = 1614) and 195 ± 512 (n = 1789) g/examinee, respectively. A large variance among the mean MW generation rates of the participating individual laboratories that belonged to the same category was observed. The dominant fraction of the infectious waste was the plastic containers that contained the tissue samples, being around 75% of the total infectious waste, followed by the latex gloves (being around 17% of the infectious waste).

Modelling, Composition and production rate of medical solid waste in Tikrit: A case study of Tikrit Teaching Hospital (TTH) in Iraq

Tikrit Teaching Hospital (TTH), Tikrit, Iraq, was selected for investigation as a case study. Data collection was carried out during TTH visits and by questionnaires. Sampling was performed during a 10-month period, one week each sampling month. The medical waste analyzed was comprised of 63.04% general waste (non-risk) and 36.96% hazardous waste. The results indicated that the medical waste generation rate is 0.9 kg/bed.day and 0.75 kg/patient.day. Statistically significant linear correlations were established between the daily production of medical solid waste and the respective number of patients and the occupied beds in TTH as whole. Based on the average daily production of medical solid waste produced by the departments of TTH (kg /d), the larger producer of general medical solid waste was obstetric department with average daily production of 25 kg/d, while the larger producer of hazardous medical solid waste was obstetric department with average daily production of 11 kg/d. The average specific weight of total medical waste, general waste, and hazardous waste were determined to be 218.6, 206.5 and 225.54 kg/m3, respectively. The average moisture content of total medical waste, general waste, and hazardous waste were determined to be 21, 20.4 and 23.4 %, respectively. The average general medical waste composition was: 40% organics, 21% plastics, 19% paper, 11% glass and 9% metals. Pathological wastes and sharp objects comprised 43% and 25% of the hazardous medical waste components.
 
 © 2018 JASET, International Scholars and Researchers Association

Analyzing composition and generation rates of biomedical waste in selected hospitals of Uttarakhand, India

In India, a few studies have been conducted for analyzing the generation rates and composition of medical waste (MW). Inadequate information about the amount and composition of MW results in ineffective management practices. The present study seeks to evaluate healthcare waste (HCW) generation rates by healthcare facilities (HCFs) available in Uttarakhand, a northern state of India. Study also focuses on modeling the quantity of different types of MW generated at various HCFs and determining significant factors contributing towards MW generation. Seasonal variation in amount of MW generated from various HCFs has also been considered. To achieve these objectives, cross-sectional as well as longitudinal data have been collected from various HCFs in Uttarakhand, India. The survey revealed that around 36% of the total HCFs did not segregate their MW as per policy guidelines. Cross-sectional data for May 2015 were collected from 75 HCFs to analyze and model the composition and quantity of HCW generated. Multiple Linear Regression and Artificial Neural Network techniques were applied to model cross-sectional data. In the composition of the overall MW, ‘yellow waste’ carries the maximum share, followed by ‘red waste’ and then the ‘blue waste’. In addition, the ‘type of HCF’ and ‘bed occupancy’ have been modeled as the important factors, contributing towards the MW generations rates. Longitudinal data for 2 years (2013 and 2014) were collected to examine seasonal variation in HCW generation rates using polynomial regression analysis. Result shows that MW quantity also varies with the change in the season. Findings of the study will help hospitals and waste treatment facilities to predict amount of waste that may be generated, and plan resources towards efficient handling and disposal of MW.

Sustainability of Medical Waste Management in Different Sized Health Care Facilities

In recent years the waste produced within healthcare facilities has raised great attention. The proper management of such waste is fundamental to avoid both public health issues and environmental pollution, so that several countries have been enforcing specific legislative acts to regulate medical waste classification, collection, treatment and disposal. In this context, both the classification of medical waste and its segregation in healthcare facilities play a key role in the techno-economic optimization of the whole management systems. This study collected annual data dealing with the waste generation in five hospitals characterized by different size in terms of bed capacity. In each facility the amount as well as the composition of medical waste generated over 4 years were analysed; results were also discussed in relation to the hospital operating conditions, including the different forms of admission as well as the occupancy rates. The costs associated to the management of medical waste were presented as well. The analysis of these data pointed out that the waste source separation yields performed in the investigated hospitals suffer from inadequate implementation of the operating procedure, whose simplification could promote the system effectiveness as well as cost reduction.

Determination of medical waste composition in hospitals of Sana'a city, Yemen

The composition analysis of medical waste is generally considered to be the fundamental information for the most basic steps in the development of a plan for solid hospitals waste management. The objectives of this study were to determine the quantity, generation rate, and the physical composition of medical waste generated in hospitals of Sana'a city, Yemen. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted on the composition of hospital wastes generated in four governmental hospitals in Sana'a City. Purposive sampling was used in the selection of the hospitals, which included (Al-Thawra, Al-Kuwait, Republic, and Military). Results of this study showed that the daily average of the waste generated from the studied hospitals was 5615 kg/day. Approximately 26% of the total waste was hazardous (infectious, pathological, and chemical wastes). While 74% was a general (non-hazardous) waste. The average rate of the total waste generation was 3 kg/patient/day, and 2.5 kg/bed/day. The mean individual components of generated waste in the studied hospitals were; foods 27%, plastic 22%, paper/cardboard 22%, glass 11%, metals 10%, and others 8%. In conclusion, about 26% of the waste was hazardous. The physical component analysis of the waste indicated that the foods, plastic, and paper/cartoon has the highest content of the hospitals waste. Decision makers in Yemen can use this study information for designing and plan the properly management for the collecting system and the healthy disposal of the hazardous waste. Also, for estimating the total policy of required facilities, manpower, and other related costs.Keywords: Composition; medical waste; hospitals waste; Yemen

Thermogravimetric characteristics and different kinetic models for medical waste composition containing polyvinyl chloride-transfusion tube

Thermogravimetric study of medical transfusion tube (MTT) waste containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was carried out using the thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) with N2, at different heating rates of 5, 10, 20, 30, 50 °C/min. The purpose is to obtain pyrolysis characteristics and kinetic parameters of medical waste. The experimental results indicate that the pyrolysis behavior of the MTT sample is in agreement with its main ingredient of PVC, appearing two stair stepping stages. The influence of the additives in MTT on pyrolysis behavior was also revealed, which could improve MTT pyrolysis at lower temperature in the first stage, and cause obvious unsmoothness and asymmetry of the second DTG peak. Four n-order kinetic models of Coats-Redfern, Ozawa, Kissinger and Freeman-carroll were used to get the kinetic parameters. Furthermore, a novel “two-step four-reaction model” was established to simulate the whole continuous process. The different methods and the kinetic parameters thus obtained were discussed and compared with each other in literatures. The reasons of deviation among kinetic values were tried to be elucidated. The new established model could more satisfactorily describe the pyrolysis process of MTT, being more mechanistic and conveniently serving for the engineering.

Hazardous medical waste generation in Greece: case studies from medical facilities in Attica and from a small insular hospital

The accurate calculation of the unit generation rates and composition of medical waste generated from medical facilities is necessary in order to design medical waste treatment systems. In this work, the unit medical waste generation rates of 95 public and private medical facilities in the Attica region were calculated based on daily weight records from a central medical waste incineration facility. The calculated medical waste generation rates (in kg bed(-1) day( -1)) varied widely with average values at 0.27 ± 113% and 0.24 ± 121%, for public and private medical facilities, respectively. The hazardous medical waste generation was measured, at the source, in the 40 bed hospital of the island of Ikaria for a period of 42 days during a 6 month period. The average hazardous medical waste generation rate was 1.204 kg occupied bed(-1) day(-1) or 0.33 kg (official) bed( -1) day(-1). From the above amounts, 54% resulted from the patients' room (solid and liquid wastes combined), 24% from the emergency department (solid waste), 17% from the clinical pathology lab and 6% from the X-ray lab. In average, 17% of the total hazardous medical waste was solely infectious. Conclusively, no correlation among the number of beds and the unit medical waste generation rate could be established. Each hospital should be studied separately, since medical waste generation and composition depends on the number and type of departments/laboratories at each hospital, number of external patients and number of occupied beds.

Thermogravimetric analysis and kinetic study on pyrolysis of representative medical waste composition

To obtain detailed information on the pyrolysis characteristics, a thermogravimetric study on the pyrolysis of 14 typical medical waste compositions was carried out in thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) equipment using dynamic techniques in a stream of N2. An index representing pyrolysis reactivity of waste was presented. Kinetic parameters were obtained by Coats–Redfern method and used to model the TG curve. The results showed that: (a) Plastic, protein, cellulosic material, synthetic fibre, and rubber entered pyrolysis process in succession. (b) There was one decomposition stage in the pyrolysis of one-off medical glove, operating glove, cellulosic waste, absorbable catgut suture and adhesive plaster, while other components had two obvious weight loss stages. (c) The obtained apparent activation energy for second stage pyrolysis was comparably higher than that for first stage. (d) Each stage was controlled by only one kinetic mechanism, in which kinetic parameters were constant. (e) The degradation kinetics of medical waste may be affected by special physical and chemical treatment in the product manufacturing process. (f) Among 13 waste samples, the pyrolysis index of cellulosic matter was the highest, which indicated cellulosic matter had strong pyrolysis reactivity. (g) With increasing heating rate, TG curve and DTG peak shifted to high temperatures and main reaction interval of the sample became longer.