Medical Waste Transportation Research Articles

Secure learning-based coordinated UAV–UGV framework design for medical waste transportation

A cost-effective solution with less human involvement must be developed for medical waste (MW) transportation. A learning-based coordinated unmanned aerial vehicle–unmanned ground vehicle (UAV–UGV) (CUU) framework, currently unavoidable use, with a transfer learning algorithm is suggested. A transfer learning algorithm is implemented for collision-free optimal path planning. In the framework, mobile ground robots collect medical waste from waste disposal centers through the pick-and-place technique. Then, networked drones lift the collected medical waste and fly through a predefined optimal trajectory. The framework considers the dynamic behavior of the environment and explores the actions for picking, placing, and dropping medical waste. A deep reinforcement learning mechanism has been incorporated for each successful or unsuccessful action by the framework to provide the rewards. With optimal policies, the coordinated UAV and UGV change their actions in dynamic conditions. An optimal cost of transportation of medical waste by the proposed framework is created by considering the weight of MW packets as the payload capacity of a CUU framework, the cost of steering the UAV and UGV, and the time required to transport the MW. The effectiveness of the CUU framework for MW transportation has been tested using MATLAB. The MW transportation data have been encrypted using an encryption key for security and authenticity.

Penanganan Limbah Medis Padat di Puskesmas X

Public Health Centre facilities are integral to the healthcare system, playing a vital role in safeguarding public health at the primary level. These facilities, beyond delivering medical services, generate substantial quantities of medical waste due to various healthcare procedures. The management of medical waste in these centers presents challenges, notably the need for interim storage before third-party collection. Additionally, monthly solid medical waste transportation from all District health centers poses concerns about potential waste accumulation. This study falls into the category of descriptive research, aiming to provide an illustrative snapshot of current solid medical waste management. A survey at Public Health Centre X found that each polyclinic produces an average of 0.49 kg of solid medical waste daily, totaling 76.4 kg per month. Notably, all samples during packaging, transportation, and storage phases failed to meet specified criteria. Similarly, during sorting, the majority (83%) did not meet standards, with only one sample (16.3%) complying. This underscores the pressing need for staff training in medical waste procedures. To elevate medical waste management standards, health centers must integrate policies and regulations into their daily operations. Additionally, improving current facilities, infrastructure, and procedures is paramount to address this issue effectively. In conclusion, Public Health Centre facilities, vital for primary healthcare, grapple with medical waste management challenges. This study underscores the importance of immediate action in staff training and policy integration while investing in facility enhancements to achieve optimal medical waste management.

Adaptive Multi-Objective Algorithm for the Sustainable Electric Vehicle Routing Problem in Medical Waste Management

This paper addresses the complex issue of managing medical waste transportation using electric vehicles, with the goal of minimizing both energy consumption and the risks associated with hazardous waste. A multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model is introduced, incorporating practical factors such as time windows, partial recharge policy, load-dependent discharge, infection risk, and trips to waste disposal facilities. Our proposed method, a combination of the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm using decomposition (MOEA/D) with adaptive large neighborhood search (ALNS) and local search (LS) techniques, is referred to as MOEA/D-ALNS. This method demonstrates superior performance compared with the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm, NSGA-II, modified MOEA/D and MOEA/D-LNS in benchmark instances with realistic assumptions. Our experimental results revealed an inverse correlation between energy consumption and risk objectives. Sensitivity analyses showed that eliminating time-window constraints results in more energy-efficient and safer routes while maintaining a slightly lower battery energy level can strike an ideal balance between energy consumption, risk, and battery health. This research contributes to the understanding of infectious medical waste management with its consideration of electric vehicles and waste disposal. It lays a solid foundation for future studies aiming to improve the sustainability and efficiency of medical waste routing practices.

Research on transportation management model of COVID-19 medical waste: a case study in Beijing, China.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, disposable masks, protective clothing, gloves, and nasopharyngeal swabs collected by nucleic acid testing formed a large amount of medical waste. Medical waste has strict temporary storage time requirements in hospitals, which need to be transported to medical waste disposal plants within the specified time. However, as most of disposal plants are far away from downtown, they also need to be responsible for the transportation and disposal of medical waste in many hospitals, and put forward higher requirement for transportation routes. Rapid and safe disposal of all types of medical waste generated by COVID-19 is crucial to the prevention and control of the epidemic. This paper designs the transportation route optimization model using Anylogic simulation software based on the regional distribution of 118 tertiary hospitals and 2 large medical waste disposal plants in Beijing, China. At the same time, transportation routes of 118 tertiary hospitals in the morning peak, evening peak, all-day, and ordinary periods were simulated based on the Beijing traffic index in 2017. On this basis, through the analysis of the simulation data, the selection of medical waste transport routes for 118 tertiary hospitals in the morning peak, evening peak, all day, and ordinary periods is further clarified, so as to ensure that medical waste can be transported to the medical waste disposal plant in the shortest time. The shortest path and fastest speed transport mode, medical waste transport data set, and the selection of transport mode of 118 tertiary hospitals formed by this research provide certain reference experience for the rapid and safe transport of medical waste during the epidemic period, and also provides corresponding data support for medical waste transportation management in the post-epidemic era and medical waste transportation decision-making when facing major public health problems.

Safety during medical waste transport in practice

Purpose: The aim of the article is to provide objective information about the classification of medical waste and its storage and transport based on the Silesian waste transport company – Ekomed. Generally, waste is very marginalized by society, therefore the article aims to present the further way of dealing with medical waste. Design/methodology/approach: The basic research methods were the analysis of literature on the safety of transport of medical waste, along with their categorization based on the BDO system, by example of Silesian waste transport company – EKOMED. Findings: Disposing of medical or chemical waste is a unique responsibility. Leaving such a sensitive procedure to the wrong companies or people who do not have adequate technical and personal resources may not only have dangerous consequences, but also be severely punished by applicable law. Therefore, it is worth trusting certified companies that not only have many years of experience, but also perfectly understand the responsibility of waste producers. Research limitations/implications: In the future, research will be continued in the field of medical waste transport in context of safety, especially during pandemic. Practical implications: This article provides an overview of quantitative research and diversity of medical waste from medical facilities in Poland. This review shows the importance and scale of the problem and allows for further continuation of research to manage the generated waste. The author has also noted that people generally forget about waste when they get into the bin. The main aim is to get people’s attention what is happening later with the medical waste. Originality/value: Based on empirical research, the article shows the scale of the problem that, through the new EU directives on the recycling and sustainable development, will be a forward- looking and important issue. Additionally, the article presents concepts for medical waste transport based on a Silesian company EKOMED. It’s twenty years of daily practice of transporting medical waste to the place of its disposal allowed the development of effective logistic solutions for its safe transport, which turned out to be of invaluable value during the SARS-COV-2 virus pandemic. Keywords: medical waste, transport, safety. Category of the paper: Research paper.

Variable Neighborhood Search for Multi-Cycle Medical Waste Recycling Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows.

Background: Improper disposal of urban medical waste is likely to cause a series of neglective impacts. Therefore, we have to consider how to improve the efficiency of urban medical waste recycling and lowering carbon emissions when facing disposal. Methods: This paper considers the multi-cycle medical waste recycling vehicle routing problem with time windows for preventing and reducing the risk of medical waste transportation. First, a mixed-integer linear programming model is formulated to minimize the total cost consisting of the vehicle dispatch cost and the transportation costs. In addition, an improved neighborhood search algorithm is designed for handling large-sized problems. In the algorithm, the initial solution is constructed using the Clarke–Wright algorithm in the first stage, and the variable neighborhood search algorithm with a simulated annealing strategy is introduced for exploring a better solution in the second stage. Results: The computational results demonstrate the performance of the suggested algorithm. In addition, the total cost of recycling in the periodic strategy is lower than with the single-cycle strategy. Conclusions: The proposed model and algorithm have the management improvement value of the studied medical waste recycling vehicle routing problem.

COVID-19 medical waste transportation risk evaluation integrating type-2 fuzzy total interpretive structural modeling and Bayesian network

With the amount of medical waste rapidly increasing since the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, medical waste treatment risk evaluation has become an important task. The transportation of medical waste is an essential process of medical waste treatment. This paper aims to develop an integrated model to evaluate COVID-19 medical waste transportation risk by integrating an extended type-2 fuzzy total interpretive structural model (TISM) with a Bayesian network (BN). First, an interval type-2 fuzzy based transportation risk rating scale is introduced to help experts express uncertain evaluation information, in which a new double alpha-cut method is developed for the defuzzification of the interval type-2 fuzzy numbers (IT2FNs). Second, TISM is combined with IT2FNs to construct a hierarchical structural model of COVID-19 medical waste transportation risk factors under a high uncertain environment; a new bidirectional extraction method is proposed to describe the hierarchy of risk factors more reasonably and accurately. Third, the BN is integrated with IT2FNs to make a comprehensive medical waste transportation risk evaluation, including identifying the sensitive factors and diagnosing the event's causation. Then, a case study of COVID-19 medical waste transportation is displayed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model. Further, a comparison of the proposed model with the traditional TISM and BN model is conducted to stress the advantages of the proposed model.

The use of web technologies in the transportation of medical waste generated during the treatment of COVID-19 on the territory of the Russian Federation

In this study, explores the use of web technologies as a way to ensure that medical waste transportation is undertaken in a proper and safe way. Insofar as an incorrect waste sorting is regarded as a source of an epidemiological threat within further transportation, is proposed a synthesis of a waste sorting model. The model is based on a natural science approach to managerial decision-making. The model enables to identify and prove violations concerning medical waste sorting. Described four interconnected components of the model: an initial stage, when vaccination processes are not taking place; the vaccination is completed and medical waste is sorted according to the rules; the vaccination is completed, but the rules of medical waste sorting are violated; all the problems related to medical waste sorting are solved, so its transportation is possible.

Evaluation of implementation about Covid-19 medical waste management policies in health care facilities

This paper evaluates policy implementation that discusses the management of medical waste in health care facilities. The government establishes a waste management policy with the Decree of the Minister of Health concerning Guidelines for the Management of Medical Waste for Health Service Facilities and Waste from Isolation Activities or Independent Quarantine in the Community in Handling (Covid-19) to prevent transmission and controlling the spread of Covid-19 and protecting health workers, non-health workers, and the public from the impact of waste in handling Covid-19. Although regulations related to the management of Covid-19 waste have been set, there are still problems in some areas in their implementation. The literature study was conducted to evaluate the implementation of medical waste management policies in health care facilities. Evaluation is seen based on socialization, implementation, and policy results. Based on the results of the literature study, it was found that the socialization of the policy had done well, evidenced by the implementation of socialization about medical waste in health care facilities. The implementation encountered several obstacles, such as limited shelters, shortage of waste destruction equipment, and medical waste transportation and processing services that had not yet reached all areas in Indonesia.

Sorting, Storage, and Transport of Medical Waste from Japan’s First Hospital Specializing in COVID-19

新型コロナウイルス感染症 (COVID-19) は，2020 年 2 月 1 日，政令によって指定感染症に定められた。国内初の COVID-19 専門病院となった当院から排出される廃棄物のうち，治療，検査等に使用されたものは，すべて感染性廃棄物として処理されなければならない。感染性廃棄物の大半を占めるものは使用後の個人防護具 (PPE) である。また汚染区域に一度搬入したものは基本的には搬出できないため，単回使用物品の導入が必要不可欠であった。PPEと単回使用物品によって，当院の感染性廃棄物の量は激増したため，廃棄物は可能な限りまとめて小さくするなどの工夫が必要となった。汚染区域から清潔区域へ感染性廃棄物を搬出する際，梱包容器そのものを介して感染症が拡がらないようにするため，容器を清拭消毒できる素材のものに変更した。当院において，2020 年 9 月現在，院内感染は発生していない。また，2020 年 7 月 27 日には外来診療を再開している。

Path Optimization of Medical Waste Transport Routes in the Emergent Public Health Event of COVID-19: A Hybrid Optimization Algorithm Based on the Immune-Ant Colony Algorithm.

In response to the emergent public health event of COVID-19, the efficiency of transport of medical waste from hospitals to disposal stations is a worthwhile issue to study. In this paper, based on the actual situation of COVID-19 and environmental impact assessment guidelines, an immune algorithm is used to establish a location model of urban medical waste storage sites. In view of the selection of temporary storage stations and realistic transportation demand, an efficiency-of-transport model of medical waste between hospitals and temporary storage stations is established by using an ant colony–tabu hybrid algorithm. In order to specify such status, Wuhan city in Hubei Province, China—considered the first city to suffer from COVID-19—was chosen as an example of verification; the two-level model and the immune algorithm–ant colony optimization–tabu search (IA–ACO–TS) algorithm were used for simulation and testing, which achieved good verification. To a certain extent, the model and the algorithm are proposed to solve the problem of medical waste disposal, based on transit temporary storage stations, which we are convinced will have far-reaching significance for China and other countries to dispatch medical waste in response to such public health emergencies.

Adaptive protocol generation for group collaborative in smart medical waste transportation

This article addresses the challenge of collective decision making among the smart components in medical waste transportation. We search for an optimized alternation to generate a commitment according to the capabilities belonging to heterogeneous agents under ever-changing context conditions. we propose a Goal-Capability-Commitment based Executable Tree (GCC-ETree) approach to generate an adaptive protocol. We illustrate our approach in a real-world medical waste automated guided vehicle transportation scenario and evaluate the feasibility of our approach by comparison with other common approaches. Our work makes two main contributions. First, we show how ontology-based matching and calculation can be used to enact a semantic understanding of the alignment of environment, goal, capability and commitment. Second, we introduce run-time goal modeling into collective decision making to capture the real-time requirements and provide execution flow information for generating a decision flow at runtime.

The Routing of Hazardous and Toxic (B3) Medical Waste Transportation Using Network Analysis (Case Study: Primary Health Care Services, Depok, Indonesia)

The hazardous and toxic (B3) medical must be managing carefully. The B3 medical waste management is a series of operations, including the collection, storing, transporting, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of B3 waste and the disposal of the products of such processing. The process is very important because several categories are dangerous and toxic. Moreover, Solid medical waste can contain infections, sharp objects, drugs, cytotoxic, chemical, radioactive, pressurized containers, and have a high heavy metal content. This paper is aim to recommend the B3 medical waste transportation system for primary health care service (PHCS) and institutions related. The good of management and effective transportation are needed because it cannot endanger the increasingly of the crowded population. The data were collected in 11 of PHCS using survey and questionnaire. The point survey was processed by Google Earth/Maps and analyzed using ArcGIS. The statistic method was used to analyze the questionnaires which collected from 35 of PHCS. Based on the results, the mean value is between 4 and 3.9. It is represented that 11 PHCS have worked using waste transportation properly. Some of the PHCS was using the third party for managing the waste medical. Hence, more 37% from 13 PHCS transporting the material to the last pool of waste every day. Whereas the other (46% from 16 PHCS) carried out once a month, and 8 PHCS (23%) done twice in a month. Only 1 PHCS (3%) transported once a week. Therefore, we recommended the 13 best route for medical waste transportation using network analysis.

Optimization of medical waste routing problem: The case of TRB1 region in Turkey

A fundamental problem concerning medical waste disposal is the evaluation of the real and potential risks arising from waste with the focus on the risk of infection. Therefore, the optimization of medical waste routing from collection to disposal center can minimize the risk of infection. The routing of medical waste considers significant to determine potential routes and select the route with minimum distance. The management of the medical waste is important decision for environmental sustainability and includes the collection, transportation and disposal of these materials. In this paper, a geographic information system (GIS) solution approach is proposed to determine the best location of disposal center. Proposed approach is applied to medical waste transportation between 167 health institutions (collection centers) and predetermined 5 disposal centers through TRB1 region in Turkey, which consist of Malatya, Elaz??, Bingöl and Tunceli provinces. The results of case study are examined and suggestions for future research are provided.

Modern Management of Medical Waste in UNRWA Clinics in Gaza Strip Governorates

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى التعرف على واقع إدارة النفايات الطبية الحديثة في وكالة الغوث الدولية والتي تشمل: أولا: عمليات الفرز، وهي عبارة عن فصل النفايات الطبية العادية عن النفايات الطبية الخطرة عند مصدر إنتاجها، وكذلك وضعها في أكياس حسب تصنيفها من قبل منظمة الصحة العالمية. ثانياً: عمليات الجمع، وهي عملية جمع النفايات الطبية في أكياس مغلقة بإحكام عند امتلائها حتى ثلاثة أرباعها، وعمليات النقل الداخلي من خلال توفير عربات مناسبة لنقل النفايات الطبية من داخل أقسام العيادة إلى غرفة التخزين المؤقتة. ثالثاً: عمليات التخزين، وهي تخصيص غرفة كنقطة لتجميع النفايات فيها. رابعاً: عمليات التخلص النهائي حيث يتم تحديد كمية النفايات الطبية التي يتم إنتاجها من خلال وزنها ونقلها بواسطة شاحنات وزارة الصحة ليتم معالجتها والتخلص النهائي منها. كما تهدف الدراسة للتعرف على إجراءات السلامة المهنية للعاملين من مخاطر النفايات الطبية، وذلك من أجل تقديم توصيات تتعلق بإدارة النفايات الطبية والتعامل الآمن معها، وحماية العاملين من حوادث الإصابة بالعدوى والأخطار الناجمة عن النفايات الطبية، وتقليل نسبة حدوث الأخطاء والحوادث أثناء القيام بإدارة النفايات الطبية، والحفاظ على سلامة البيئة. وقد اعتمدت الدراسة على عدة طرق لجمع المعلومات شملت الزيارات الميدانية، وتقارير وأدلة إدارة النفايات الخاصة بوكالة الغوث الدولية.

Assessment of Awareness About Various Dental Waste Management Practices Among Dental Students and Practicing Clinicians

Objective: To evaluate the knowledge of students and dental practitioners about dental and biomedical waste disposal and to impart emphasis on important aspects such as eco-friendly waste management. Material and Methods: This questionnaire-based study involved 186 participants which comprised of 5 domains, namely laws regarding biomedical waste, steps of waste management, categories of dental waste, general hazards of improper waste disposal and certain material/process specific questions. Results: Assessment of the first domain showed that only 58.4% of participants were able to correctly identify the Pollution Control Board of India as the regulatory body for the transport of medical waste. The second domain assessment revealed that 55.9% of subjects were adequately aware of the knowledge handling hospital waste. Assessment of the third domain displayed that the majority of the respondents (91.9%) knew categories of dental waste generated. Evaluation of fourth domain exhibited that 89.8% students agreed that biomedical waste management (BWM) must be made a practical exercise in dental schools to reduce “Know-Do gap” between undergraduates and postgraduates and the last domain demonstrated that only 32.3% of the participants knew the environmentally friendly technique to convert organic waste into commercially useful byproducts. Conclusion: It was found that postgraduates had a better awareness of the proper methods to dispose of healthcare waste when compared to students and interns. However, the overall level of awareness was less than adequate. The need for special training in BWM in the clinical set up was highlighted through this study.

Evaluation of Medical Waste Management at Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal Medical Faculty Hospital

INTRODUCTION: The management of medical waste is one of the important tasks of health care facilities. A proper waste separation at the source of medical waste is also important to avoid potential health risks, such as reducing unnecessary waste burden. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the medical waste management at Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University medical school hospital. METHODS: This research is a descriptive type observational study conducted in November-December 2017. The study was carried out in the medical unit producing medical waste of Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University medical school hospital in 74 units, on the way of medical waste transportation and in the hospital's temporary medical waste depot. A face-to-face interview was held with an institution manager and personnel collecting / carrying medical waste. In this study, questions and observation forms developed by Coker and Caglayan were used. RESULTS: The hospital's medical waste volume was 143,222 kg in 2016, but in the first 11 months of 2017 it was 164,291 kg. Hazardous waste amounted to 6605 kg the first 8 months of 2017, compared to it amounted to 7859 kg in 2016. The amount of medical waste per bed and day is 1.23 kg / day in 2016 and 1.54 kg / day in 2017. The amount of medical waste per in-patient in 2017 is 9.45 kg, the amount of medical waste per out-patient is 0.46 kg and the amount of medical waste per operation is 11.70 kg. In the observations, medical waste box was found in 72 units and 41.7% of medical waste bins were found to be non-medical waste materials. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In the hospital where the study was conducted, it is seen that the total amount of medical waste increased in 2017 compared to 2016. The most important application to reduce waste generation is the reduction method at its source, providing training to employees on this subject, separating the material in the source and separating the recyclable materials, managing the inventory of the materials in the institutions, reducing the use of unnecessary disposable materials.

Red bags on the route - the transport of medical waste

Discuss about the principles of classification of medical waste and the situations in which the waste are not subject to regulations of ADR. Pointed out ways to transport this waste: in packages and in loose. Attention was paid to the lack on the Polish market of appropriate packaging and it's high price. Transport in loose was discussed in detail paying attention to similarities and differences in the requirements in transport based on regulations BK2 i VC3. VC3 requires that national authorities determine conditions of transport - until now such rules do not exist. The illustrations show some examples of inappropriate transport. It was noted that the inspection services have a problem with understanding binding laws.

Analysis of Health Workers’ Perceptions on Medical Waste Management in Tanzanian Hospitals

This paper presents the perceptions of health workers (HWs) on medical waste management (MWM) issues in Tanzanian hospitals. The perceived total waste generation rates were lower than the actual measurements. Administrators perceived lower rates than implementers. The results indicated three categories of medical waste which are given due attention, that is, sharps waste, pathological and infectious waste. Other wastes like radioactive, chemical, pharmaceutical, pressurized containers receive very little attention. Container colour coding and labelling was negligible, while improvised containers are still in use. Medical waste is transported within hospitals manually, with little efforts on mechanized transportation. Poor waste storage was observed, while the prominent medical waste treatment technologies are medium temperature incinerators. Off-site transportation of medical waste is practiced, where the waste is finally dumped or buried. The hospitals are currently utilizing public-private partnership schemes for MWM in only one aspect of off-site transportation. Three main problems which require high attention include: Weaknesses in hospital management, poor MWM infrastructure, and lack of skills and knowledge on MWM among HWs. Knowledge and awareness among HWs on health hazards associated with poor MWM is low (with exception of cholera, HIV and typhoid). Few PPE types are supplied and used in the hospitals, leading to poor diseases prevention. There is also low knowledge among HWs on administrative issues related to MWM in Tanzanian hospitals.

Optimization of Transportation for Hazardous Waste Disposal from Medical Units

The paper presents some technical considerations regarding the medical waste transportation and an optimization calculus for minimizing the transportation costs of a company specialized and authorized in collecting, transporting and final disposal of medical waste generated by healthcare facilities. The calculus revealed that it is possible to significantly reduce the transportation costs (up to 65.52%), but there are also other analysis possibilities like considering the in-between points from sources to destinations, alternative paths, limits to the amount of medical waste on each path, time.