Environmental Impact and Development Trend of Medical Waste Treatment
In recent years, people have paid more and more attention to their living environment. Therefore, the safe and harmless treatment of medical waste has been widely concerned by the society. Health-care activities protect and restore health and save lives, but dealing with the waste and by-products they generate has become another problem. Of the total amount of waste generated by health-care activities, about 85% is general, non-hazardous waste comparable to domestic waste. The remaining 15% is considered hazardous material that may be infectious, chemical or radioactive. In fact, all forms of medical waste treatment and disposal have certain advantages and disadvantages. In detail, the selection of treatment and disposal method of medical waste should include the following factors: initial investment and operating cost, technical reliability, efficiency, secondary pollution, etc. As for the types of waste, waste and by-products cover a diverse range of materials. Infectious waste means waste contaminated with blood and other bodily fluids , cultures and stocks of infectious agents from laboratory work, or waste from patients with infections; pathological waste includes human tissues, organs or fluids, body parts and contaminated animal carcasses; sharps waste refers to syringes, needles, disposable scalpels and blades, etc.; cytotoxic waste means waste containing substances with genotoxic properties , such as cytotoxic drugs used in cancer treatment and their metabolites. In addition, non-hazardous or general waste includes waste that does not pose any particular biological, chemical, radioactive or physical hazard.
In terms of the major sources of health-care waste, the sources include hospitals and other health facilities, laboratories and research centers, mortuary and autopsy centers, animal research and testing laboratories, blood banks and collection services, nursing homes for the elderly. According to statistical data, high-income countries generate on average up to 0.5 kg of hazardous waste per hospital bed per day; while low-income countries generate on average 0.2 kg. However, health-care waste is often not separated into hazardous or non-hazardous wastes in low-income countries making the real quantity of hazardous waste much higher.
Health Risks and Environmental Impact
Health-care waste contains potentially harmful microorganisms that can infect hospital patients, health workers and the general public. Other potential hazards may include drug-resistant microorganisms which spread from health facilities into the environment. What’s more, adverse health outcomes associated with health care waste and by-products also include sharps-inflicted injuries; toxic exposure to pharmaceutical products, in particular, antibiotics and cytotoxic drugs released into the surrounding environment, and to substances such as mercury or dioxins, during the handling or incineration of health care wastes; chemical burns arising in the context of disinfection, sterilization or waste treatment activities; air pollution arising as a result of the release of particulate matter during medical waste incineration; thermal injuries occurring in conjunction with open burning and the operation of medical waste incinerators; and radiation burns.
At present, studies show that a vast major of western industrialized countries have formulated clear regulations on the treatment technology of medical waste, updating treatment equipment to gradually implement harmless management. Germany began to adopt the centralized treatment method to classify combustible wastes in the process of medical waste treatment and concentrate them one by one as fuel for waste incineration and reuse after incineration. Other countries also developed a new medical crushing technology controlled by the computer, which use aluminum cars and put medical waste into the pressure vessel, so that the treatment of medical waste could meet the national safety discharge standards, and then medical waste will be completely destroyed.
However, treatment and disposal of healthcare waste may pose health risks indirectly through the release of pathogens and toxic pollutants into the environment. The disposal of untreated health care wastes in landfills can lead to the contamination of drinking, surface, and ground waters if those landfills are not properly constructed. The treatment of health care wastes with chemical disinfectants can result in the release of chemical substances into the environment if those substances are not handled, stored and disposed in an environmentally sound manner.
Although incineration of waste has been widely practiced, inadequate incineration or the incineration of unsuitable materials results in the release of pollutants into the air and in the generation of ash residue. Incinerated materials containing or treated with chlorine can generate dioxins and furans, which are human carcinogens and have been associated with a range of adverse health effects. Alternatives to incineration such as autoclaving, microwaving, steam treatment integrated with internal mixing, which minimize the formation and release of chemicals or hazardous emissions should be given consideration in settings where there are sufficient resources to operate and maintain such systems and dispose of the treated waste.
The Way Forward
With the development of society, the production of medical waste will continue to grow. Thus, medical waste incineration technology is expected to be further developed and utilized. In the long run, promoting green medical treatment and developing reusable medical supplies are the fundamental ways to treat medical waste. To sum up, the development of medical waste treatment technology can be strengthened by analyzing the impact of medical waste treatment technology on environmental treatment. It can be seen that the advantages and disadvantages of medical waste treatment technologies may directly affect the environmental pollution index under certain circumstances. Therefore, incineration personnel should fully understand the advantages and disadvantages of each medical waste treatment technology, and then choose the best medical waste treatment technology for harmless treatment of medical waste. In addition, authorities should provide adequate financial and technical support for medical incineration with good financial bases, updating incineration equipment in a timely manner, improving incineration efficiency, and strengthening the development of medical waste treatment technology, so as to effectively ensure the basic management of the environment.
In terms of reasons for failure, lack of awareness about the health hazards related to health-care waste, inadequate training in proper waste management, absence of waste management and disposal systems, insufficient financial and human resources and the low priority given to the topic are the most common problems connected with health-care waste. Many countries either do not have appropriate regulations, or do not enforce them.
The management of health-care waste requires increased attention and diligence to avoid adverse health outcomes associated with poor practice, including exposure to infectious agents and toxic substances. Key elements in improving health-care waste management requires governments to promote practices that reduce the volume of wastes generated and ensure proposer waste segregation. Also, it is recommended to raise awareness of the risks related to health-care waste, and of safe practices and to incrementally improve waste segregation, destruction and disposal practices with the ultimate aim of meeting national and international standards. Moreover, government commitment and support are needed for universal, long-term improvement, although immediate action can be taken locally.
By Xin Wang
