Assessment of hospitals medical waste management in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province in Iran

Mahdi Sadeghi 1 , Abdolmajid Fadaei 2 , M. Ataee 3

1   Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Environmental Health Research Center, School of Health, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, IRAN
2   Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, IRAN
3   Students Research Committee, Research Center, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, IRAN

✉ Coressponding author: See PDF.

doi https://doi.org/10.26832/24566632.2020.0502011

doi

Abstract

The hospital wastes could threaten the surface waters, ground waters, soil, air environment and humans’ health. This study was intended to investigate the management of medical waste generated in hospitals of Charharmahal and Bakhtiari province, located in south west of Iran. The samples came from all 9 province’s hospitals with 1156 beds. The data forms and questionnaires were completed. The questionnaire contained questions about the generation of waste and practices related to separation, collection, storage, transport, treatment and final disposal, and training and awareness. The highest generation rate on a bed basis of 3.22±0.4 kg/bed/day was found in Shohada hospital, and the lowest rate was 1.37±0.2 kg/bed/day for Sina hospital. There was significant variation (P<0.05). The average general waste production rate was 2.12±0.37 kg/bed/day at all the surveyed hospitals. The highest percentage (63%) of total medical wastes were general, 36.05% were infectious wastes. About 44.44% of the hospitals have used autoclave to disinfect their infectious medical waste prior to disposal, while incineration is used in 33.33% of the hospitals. All hospitals (100%) indicated their needs and willingness to participate in future specialized training programs in medical waste management. It has been suggested that enhancing the education, awareness and promoting programs about medical waste management for cleaning workers, doctors, nurses, and technicians.

Keywords:

Hazardous, Hospital waste, Medical waste, Waste generation, Waste management

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Published

2020-06-25

How to Cite

Sadeghi, M., Fadaei, A., & Ataee, M. (2020). Assessment of hospitals medical waste management in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province in Iran. Archives of Agriculture and Environmental Science, 5(2), 157-163. https://doi.org/10.26832/24566632.2020.0502011

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Research Articles