Treatment of Medical Waste

The reduction in the numbers of incinerators and the limitations of autoclaves have created the need for alternative medical waste treatment systems. Currently, there are over 40 such technologies available from greater than 70 manufacturers within the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. While these systems vary in their treatment capacity, the extent of automation, and overall volume reduction, all alternative technologies utilize one or more of the following methods (1) heating the waste to a minimum of 90 to 95°C by means of microwaves, radio waves, hot oil, hot water, steam, or superheated gases (2) exposing the waste to chemicals such as sodium hypochlorite (household bleach) or 

Thermal systems that use heat to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms are the most common alternative technologies for the treatment of medical waste. These systems can be broadly divided into those using low temperatures — 95°C (moist heat) to 250°C (dry heat) — and those that use high temperatures — from approximately 500°C to greater than 6000°C. The latter systems combust and destroy the waste as part of the treatment process. 

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The thermal treatment of some wastes (e.g. industrial, medical, and military) through their incineration results in the formation of relatively highly toxic residues. The ash residue being a secondaiy waste is sometimes more toxic than the primary solid feed. 

Health officials are increasingly concerned about disposal of infectious, radioactive, and toxic medical wastes that have become major components in the treatment and diagnosis of many diseases. Legal complications in handling medical wastes are another issue. There are, for example, no federal regulations for disposal of medical waste. State and local regulations are widely divergent. 

PEAT, Inc., has developed the thermal destruction and recovery (TDR) system for the treatment of medical, hazardous, and radioactive wastes. An electronic plasma heating system is used to break down wastes into three phases. The ceramic, metal, and off-gas phases can aU be used as commercial products. The technology has been evaluated in treatability studies on infectious medical waste. Department of Defense (DOD) ammunition and energetic materials, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) weapon components, ash, electronic scrap, batteries, asbestos, and organic compounds. 

Sioi M, Bolosis A, Kostopoulou E, Poulios I. Photocatalytic treatment of colored waste-water from medical laboratories Photocatalytic oxidation of hematoxylin. J Photochem Photobiol A Chem 2006 184 18-25. 

Very well developed technology Ability of rejection of all contaminants Number of industrial applications for treatment of mixed waste, floor drains, waste from reprocessing, from medical applications... 

Electron irradiation is useful in other areas, too. Foods can be irradiated, thereby allowing sterilization, and stabilization(g). For example, irradiation of potatoes kills any bugs, bacteria, etc., and eliminates germination/sprouting, which allows a great enhancement in storage-ability. Bectron irradiation is increasingly used in sterilization of medical devices and equipment(Z), and may even have promise in treatment of various waste streams. ... 

During collection, storage, and transportation, use containers constructed of materials compatible with the treatment methods utilized. Ensure the use of burnable single-use containers for waste destined for incinerators. Containers destined for steam sterilizers should allow proper treatment of the waste. Decontaminate reusable containers after each use using only approved methods. Never reuse containers unless decontaminated and before use remove all medical waste labeling. 

Waste Treatment. Microwave energy has been studied for the desulfurization of coal (qv) and treatment of wastes (190). Developments in microwave incinerators for medical and radioactive wastes have occurred (191,192). Even a consumer unit for consumption of sohd household waste has been proposed (193). Economic factors remain a key barrier in these developments. 

Optimized modern dry scrubbing systems for incinerator gas cleaning are much more effective (and expensive) than their counterparts used so far for utility boiler flue gas cleaning. Brinckman and Maresca [ASME Med. Waste Symp. (1992)] describe the use of dry hydrated lime or sodium bicarbonate injection followed by membrane filtration as preferred treatment technology for control of acid gas and particulate matter emissions from modular medical waste incinerators, which have especially high dioxin emissions. 

This section emphasizes cell cultures and microbial and enzymatic processes and excludes medical, animal, and agricultural engineering systems. Engineering aspec ts of biological waste treatment are covered in Sec. 25. 

FIFRA requires the registration of pesticides and disinfectants used in medical waste treatment technologies... 

Low-level radioactive waste (LLW), 25 851. See also Low level wastes (LLW) disposal of, 25 857-859 medical/biological, 25 865-866 storage of, 25 855 treatment of, 25 853 Low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, operation of, 25 858 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980, 25 852... 

Exiting the Bloodstream. Medications, nutrients, and other substances are continuously leaving the bloodstream and entering other tissues or organs. They are free to reenter the bloodstream at any time and often do. The effect of the medication depends on where it exits. If it exits at the liver, the body s version of a waste treatment and chemical detoxification facility, then the medication is likely to be inactivated, that is, metabolized. If it exits at the kidney, then it will likely be excreted in urine. We ll describe this in more detail in the next section. 

If the amount of hazardous waste a medical office produces in a month is less than 25 gal (95 L), this medical office qualifies as a very small quantity generator (VSQG) in Massachusetts. As a VSQG, the medical office is required to register with the State regulatory agency, label its wastes as hazardous, and ship it with a licenced hazardous waste hauler or precious metal transporter to a licenced treatment or disposal facility. 

The Vance incandescent disposal system (IDS) is a patented, commercially available, ex situ technology for the treatment of biohazardous medical and other hazardous wastes. 

The administration of 131I requires safety measurements to reduce to a minimum the irradiation of medical personnel and to avoid contamination of rooms and relatives of patients. Capsules containing 131I are therefore to be preferred to liquid iodine. At doses above 25 mCi (555 MBq), usually intended only for treatment of patients with thyroid cancer, isolation in a specially constructed room of a service for nuclear medicine is necessary. Waste disposal should also be carefully managed so as to avoid overall contamination (5,6). 

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