Hospital Waste

Hospital or medical waste results from the activity of hospitals, treatment centers, laboratories, and clinics, and is a very serious threat to humans and the environment; because it leads to the production of waste that may have undesirable effects on human health and the environment. Some of this high-risk waste consists of infectious materials, including sharp waste, body-part waste, chemical or pharmaceutical waste, and radioactive, cytotoxic waste, and broken thermometers. Despite modern methods for disposing of hospital waste, in many regions of the country the disposal of this dangerous waste is still done by the traditional method, namely burial. The burial of hospital waste, in addition to environmental and groundwater pollution, carries the risk of spreading certain diseases. The burial of hospital and infectious waste by current methods, the use of incinerators, and even plasma treatment are far from the world's up-to-date technologies, and it is necessary to use modern, new, and standard methods for the destruction of hospital waste. Classification of types of hospital waste What is hospital waste? Any by-product produced as a result of health and treatment care in hospitals, laboratories, and clinics during the diagnosis of disease, laboratory research, drug administration, and treatment is called hospital waste. These by-products can be solid or liquid and are usually infectious. Some of them include discarded blood, needles, syringes, scalpels, microbial culture media, bandages, and so on. In general, this waste is classified into four groups: Ordinary or quasi-household waste: This category makes up the major part of the waste, including excess and discardable materials from the administrative and financial sections, the kitchen and pantry, staff and treatment-team workstations, and other waste similar to household discardable materials. Such as: plastic, paper, food cans, item coverings, masks, empty boxes of hospital equipment, food leftovers, and so on. Likewise, sweepings, rubble, and gardening waste also make up a large part of the waste in this category. Infectious and dangerous waste: Discardable materials that cause infection and disease fall into this category, several examples of which include the following: The plastic part of angiocaths, gauze cotton bands and surplus from injections and dressings, the patient's sputum and secretions, items contaminated with the patient's blood and secretions, laboratory culture media, gloves, blood sets and bags, the food leftovers of infectious patients, gastric tubes, suction sets, ventilators, and so on. This waste is placed in yellow bags that are highly resistant and bear an infectious label, and is finally transferred by waste-transport trolley into the waste-destruction hall. Sharp and cutting waste: This waste, such as hypodermic needles, broken glass, injection needles, angiocath needles, infusion sets, and any kind of disposable item that causes wounds, cuts, and injuries of this sort, falls into this category. This waste must be placed in safe, standard, yellow, lidded containers and transferred, along with the infectious waste, to the decontamination hall. Chemical, pharmaceutical, and radioactive hospital waste: By pharmaceutical waste is meant those drugs that are expired, vaccines, narcotics, and serums that are no longer needed, and so on, which are harmful to humans if not disposed of. Chemical and radioactive waste may cause cell mutation and carcinogenesis, and these problems may arise inside the hospital environment and even outside the hospital, which is why they must be dealt with more seriously. Methods for destroying hospital waste: Using a shredder, also called a grinder, is one of the best ways to dispose of hospital waste. This device crushes and finely chops the waste. As a result, sharp and cutting waste such as needles and scalpels no longer pose a serious danger to humans and the environment. The shredder is equipped with filters that prevent dust, particles, and contaminated gases from being released into the environment. This waste-disposal device reduces the volume of this waste by up to 20% and renders it unusable. Another method is incineration and disposal. For this, a site or location is designated so that the ash produced from combustion is not released into the environment and, if buried, the habitat of humans and other creatures is not contaminated. Hospitals and health centers are legally obligated to autoclave and render safe their infectious waste. The autoclave is a device used to sterilize medical equipment using pressure, high temperature, and steam, which leads to the elimination of bacteria, microbes, and viruses. In addition to the methods mentioned, other methods such as microwave rays and irradiation can also be used.