Temporary Storage Area Research Articles

Medical Waste Management Practices in a Southern African Hospital

This study examined the medical waste management practices of a hospital in Southern Africa. The results revealed that the hospital does not quantify medical waste. Segregation of medical wastes into infectious medical waste and non-infectious medical waste is not conducted according to definite rules and standards. Separation of medical waste and municipal waste is however practiced to a satisfactory extent. Wheeled trolleys are used for on-sitetransportation of waste from the points of production to the temporary storage area. Staff responsible for collecting medical waste use almost completes personal protective equipment. Offsite transportation of the hospital waste is undertaken by a private waste management company. Small pickups are mainly used to transport waste daily to an off-site area for treatment and disposal. The main treatment method used in the final disposal of infectious waste is incineration. Noninfectiouswaste is disposed off using land disposal method. The study showed that the hospital does not have a policy and plan in place for managing medical waste. There are a number of problems the hospital faces in terms of medical waste management, including; lack of necessary rules, regulations and instructions on the different aspects of collections anddisposal of waste, failure to quantify the waste generated in reliable records, lack of use of coloured bags by limiting thebags to only one colour for all waste, the absence of a dedicated waste manager, and no committee responsible for monitoring the management of medical waste. Recommendations are given with the aim of improving medical waste management in hospitals.

Efficiency of mechanical cane loading in Egypt

The cane growing area along the Nile valley in Upper Egypt has expanded. Most of farmer holdings are small, typically ranging from 0.5 to 1 hectare. Cane delivery schedules and consequently harvesting dates mainly depend on the delivery allocation and the date of harvest last season. The mill administration assigns a transport vehicle (main vehicle) for each farmer according to the schedule. Farmer/s harvest and transport cane from inside field/s (using a tractor-pulled-trailers) to temporary storage sites at which the main vehicle/s are loaded. Loader efficiency can be low due to time losses associated with travel from one storage site to another. To achieve reasonable efficiency of the loader, storage sites may be amalgamated allowing greater utilisation of loaders. This procedure may increase the infield transport distance which may reduce the rate of cane supply from fields, thus contributing to increased cane delivery delay. Farmers may have to transport a part of the main vehicle load to the storage site the previous day to secure continuous operation of the loader. In this study, loader efficiency, loading rate, the percentage of main vehicle/s load/s delayed more than 24 h and cane collection efficiency were studied. In most cases, one main vehicle was assigned to each farmer, where a trailer pulled by tractor was used to transfer cane from inside the field to the storage area. Results showed that total efficiency of the loader was 75% in case of loading lorries in a large storage area and 81% in case of railway wagons loaded at a station. Average total efficiency of the loader was 61% when loading decauvelle wagons distributed in several storage areas within the same production region. Efficiency of loading tractor trailers in the field was 54%. Maximum efficiency was observed to be achieved if the loader works for the full operational day in one storage area. Cane collection efficiency was variable for the variable operating conditions. The percent of cane delayed more than 24 h was also estimated. Large temporary storage areas at which lorries are loaded with cane, and cane loading stations for railway wagons may represent more optimal conditions for loader operation. The paper discusses the efficiency of loader operation under a range of variable conditions, and related cane delivery delay. The results highlight the role of loader operation efficiency as a factor determining the adoption of mechanical loading of sugarcane. Recommendations for proper operation of cane loader are suggested.

The challenge of medical waste management: a case study in northwest Iran-Tabriz

This article presents the results of a descriptive cross-sectional study on medical waste management in Tabriz (Iran's fourth largest city). The study was conducted in 10 of 25 active hospitals of the city in the summer of 2007. The methodology of the present study was based on data collected from hospitals through a checklist, site visits (observation), and quantity analysis by weight. The results indicated that more than 13.59 tonnes day(-1) of total medical waste and 4.06 tonnes day(-1) of hazardous-infectious medical waste are generated by the active hospitals of the city. Currently, there are no practical instructions, or suitable supervision on different levels of waste management. The health authorities and hospital managers do not accept sufficient responsibility for the medical waste due to financial problems and the lack of awareness regarding the hazards of medical waste. Segregation and minimization of waste are not carried out correctly in any of the hospitals. The use of protective measures by staff and temporary storage areas was not in agreement with standards in 70 and 60% of the hospitals in the present study, respectively. About 50% of the hospitals had been equipped with an incinerator, but all but one (10%) of them had been phased out due to operation and maintenance problems, air pollution, etc. Almost all of the hospitals have a waste management officer, but there is not an effective training programme for the staff. Infectious-hazardous medical waste is mixed with general waste, and it is disposed of in a municipal waste landfill, which is an unsanitary dumpsite. Illegal segregation and recycling of medical waste is carried out at the final disposal site; therefore, there are concerns about environmental pollution and the transmission of infectious diseases. It is proposed that, through the allocation of increased budgets, implementation of integrated segregation, minimization of waste, and creation of a training programme in the hospitals, the quantity of medical waste would be decreased (by about 70.11%). Considering the previous unsuccessful experience of on-site incineration in Tabriz (and in Iran's other large cites), an amendment should be made to Iran's current hazardous waste regulations to have infectious-hazardous waste sent to a central off-site autoclave or incinerator for treatment. The off-site autoclave would have some advantages, such as decreased air pollution. Of course, some health officials oppose this plan. To test this plan and receive the official's approval, a central off-site autoclave can be put into practice as a pilot.

Medical waste management in China: A case study of Nanjing

Medical waste management is of great importance due to its infectious and hazardous nature that can cause undesirable effects on humans and the environment. The objective of this study was to analyze and evaluate the present status of medical waste management in the light of medical waste control regulations in Nanjing. A comprehensive inspection survey was conducted for 15 hospitals, 3 disposal companies and 200 patients. Field visits and a questionnaire survey method were implemented to collect information regarding different medical waste management aspects, including medical waste generation, segregation and collection, storage, training and education, transportation, disposal, and public awareness. The results indicated that the medical waste generation rate ranges from 0.5 to 0.8 kg/bed day with a weighted average of 0.68 kg/bed day. The segregated collection of various types of medical waste has been conducted in 73% of the hospitals, but 20% of the hospitals still use unqualified staff for medical waste collection, and 93.3% of the hospitals have temporary storage areas. Additionally, 93.3% of the hospitals have provided training for staff; however, only 20% of the hospitals have ongoing training and education. It was found that the centralized disposal system has been constructed based on incineration technology, and the disposal cost of medical waste is about 580 US$/ton. The results also suggested that there is not sufficient public understanding of medical waste management, and 77% of respondents think medical waste management is an important factor in selecting hospital services. The problematic areas of medical waste management in Nanjing are addressed by proposing some recommendations that will ensure that potential health and environmental risks of medical waste are minimized.

A Framework for Coupling Shoals and Shallow Embayments with Main Channels in Numerical Modeling of Coastal Plain Estuaries

A simple computational framework is developed to include shoals and shallow embayments (SSE) and their interaction with main channels in estuarine modeling. The scheme, treating SSE as temporary storage areas, accounts for the water and material exchanges between SSE and main channels as the tide rises and falls, and for the biogeochemical processes affecting nonconservative substances such as water-quality parameters in SSE. The scheme, because of its simple nature, can be easily incorporated into one-, two- or three-dimensional models of estuaries with substantial SSE. The concept and the model implementation of the scheme are explained using a vertical two-dimensional model of estuarine hydrodynamics and water quality. The model application to the tidal Rappahannock River, a western shore tributary of Chesapeake Bay, demonstrates the scheme is simple and physically reasonable, and the importance of SSE in estuarine modeling. The inclusion of SSE in a water-quality model not only provides a framework, for computing water-quality conditions therein but also accounts for the interaction between SSE and the main channel. It is shown that significant errors may result if the effects of SSE are not properly accounted for in modeling of an estuary with extensive SSE.

Consumption of Leaf Litter by Lumbricus terrestris (Oligochaeta) on a Michigan Woodland Floodplain

The consumption rate of leaf litter by Lumbricus terrestris (Oligochaeta) was studied from April through May 1981, on a Michigan woodland floodplain. Feeding chambers containing earthworms and leaf litter, which excluded soil microfauna, were placed on the floodplain. After 4 weeks, earthworms consumed leaves equivalent in amount to 93.87o of the total annual leaf fall. The mean consumption rate was 11.0 mg dry weight leaves g-1 live weight earthworms d-1 for a 4-week period with a maximum rate of 14.3 mg. The consumption rate of leaf litter by L. terrestris reported herein was similar to rates reported in other studies. INTRODUCTION Few studies have been conducted on the role of soil macroinvertebrates in leaf litter breakdown in wetland areas, particularly floodplains. It has been hypothesized that a woodland floodplain may serve as a temporary storage area for detritus such as leaf litter before it enters the stream or river (Merritt and Lawson, 1979; Cummins, 1980). In a Michigan woodland floodplain, Merritt and Lawson (1979) found that several groups of macroinvertebrates were involved in leaf litter breakdown (e.g., Gastropoda, Isopoda, Insecta, Diplopoda); however, earthworms appeared to be the most important group. The importance of earthworms in leaf litter degradation is welldocumented for several types of forest and agricultural lands (Kurcheva, 1960; Raw, 1962; Edwards and Heath, 1963; Van Rhee, 1963; Satchell, 1967; Edwards and Lofty, 1972; Lofty, 1974); however, less is known about their importance in floodplain soils. The objective of this study was to determine the rate at which Lumbricus terrestris (Linn.) consumed leaf litter in a Michigan woodland floodplain. MATERIALS AND METHODS Research was conducted on a point bar of the Augusta Creek floodplain located in the W. K. Kellogg Research Forest (Kalamazoo Co.), southwestern Michigan. At this location, Augusta Creek is a third-order channel (ca. 10 m width, 0.7 m depth). The floodplain is heavily forested and contains numerous species. Some of the major tree and shrub species are black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marsh.), green ash (F. pennsylvania Marsh.), basswood (Tilia americana L.), dogwood (Cornus spp.) and black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.). The dominant lowland herbaceous vegetation consists of jewelweed (Impatiens capensis Meerb.), wood nettle (Laporta canadensis (L.) Wedd.), running strawberry (Euonymus obovatus Nutt.), skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus (L.) Nutt.) and iris sp. The soil of the point bar is poorly drained Adrian muck (Terric Medisaprist) which has high soil moisture and organic content most of the year. Green ash leaves were collected from the ground in early spring, air-dried and weighed in 10-g packs. A 3 m2 experimental plot, dominated by skunk cabbage, was chosen for its homogenous composition. In each of six rows, six holes were dug (27 cm apart, 18 cm deep) in the plot. The excavated soil was hand-sorted to remove large debris and steam heated to 55 C for 30 min to eliminate soil fauna. Thirty-six perforated plastic feeding chambers (22 cm high x 20 cm diam), each lined with 50 ,tm

Sources, storages, and sinks of fine-grained sediments in a fluvial-estuarine system

Research Article| November 01, 1984 Sources, storages, and sinks of fine-grained sediments in a fluvial-estuarine system WILLIAM H. RENWICK; WILLIAM H. RENWICK 1Department of Geography and Center for Coastal and Environmental Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GAIL M. ASHLEY GAIL M. ASHLEY 2Department of Geological Sciences and Center for Coastal and Environmental Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information WILLIAM H. RENWICK 1Department of Geography and Center for Coastal and Environmental Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 GAIL M. ASHLEY 2Department of Geological Sciences and Center for Coastal and Environmental Studies, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1984) 95 (11): 1343–1348. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1984)95<1343:SSASOF>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation WILLIAM H. RENWICK, GAIL M. ASHLEY; Sources, storages, and sinks of fine-grained sediments in a fluvial-estuarine system. GSA Bulletin 1984;; 95 (11): 1343–1348. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1984)95<1343:SSASOF>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The Raritan River drains a highly urbanized and industrialized area of New Jersey. Extensive areas of this waterway receive finegrained sediments from within the drainage basin and from Raritan Bay, which are believed to be contaminated with pollutants. The transition from fluvial to estuarine conditions and seaward enlargement of the estuary due to increasing volume of tidal discharges result in a distinctive sequence of downstream changes in channel morphology, processes, and sedimentary environments. These are mapped and are classified as transport zones (above the head of tide), temporary storage areas (upper and middle estuaries), and permanent sinks (mud benches, dredged areas, tidal marshes) for fine sediments. These designations can be used for more cost-effective sampling, that is, “focused sampling” of sediments likely to contain pollutants. A sediment budget for the estuary indicates it is a sediment sink, with the largest input coming from landward sources. This analysis can serve as a guide to assessment and management of contaminated environments. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

HTERM/CIM and HTERM/BAS: “Smart” terminal enabling programs for the TRS-80 microcomputer

HTERM/CIM and HTERM/BAS: “Smart” terminal enabling programs for the TRS-80 microcomputer