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Solid Waste Management in the Tourism Industry Read chapter Read first chapter

2022 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

4. Health-Care Waste Management

Authors : Hamidi Abdul Aziz, Fatehah Mohd Omar, Herni Abdul Halim, Yung-Tse Hung

Published in: Solid Waste Engineering and Management

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Health-care waste (HCW) is the term used to describe all waste generated by health-care facilities, laboratories, and research facilities. HCW is largely non-hazardous, with an 85% recycling rate comparable to household waste. The remaining 15% is considered a hazardous material, which can be infectious, chemical, or radioactive. Measures to ensure safe and environmentally sound management of HCW must be implemented to avoid the release of chemical or biological hazards, including drug-resistant microorganisms that could harm patients and health-care workers and the general public. When HCW is not properly handled and disposed of, there is a serious risk of secondary disease transmission to waste pickers, waste workers, health-care workers, patients, and the community as a whole. Sources, generation, compositions, and risk factors for HCW are addressed in this chapter. Discussions on appropriate treatment technologies and their applications in selected countries follow the introduction of the concept of 3R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle). HCW management’s legal framework, regulations, and code of conduct are also highlighted. At the end of the chapter, the Covid-19 pandemic’s effects on HCW management are also discussed.

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Glossary
ADR
ADR is an abbreviation for “Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises dangereuses par route”, which translates as “The European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road”. The international term ADR has been so widely used in the transport industry that almost anyone in the industry understands what is meant, regardless of their country of origin.
Best Environmental Practices (BEP)
Best Environmental Practice (BEP) means the application of the most appropriate combination of environmental control measures and strategies.
Common biomedical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF)
A Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF) is a set-up where biomedical waste, generated from a number of health-care units, is imparted necessary treatment to reduce adverse effects that this waste may pose. The treated waste may finally be sent for disposal in a landfill or for recycling purposes.
Genotoxic Waste
Genotoxic wastes are a subset of hazardous waste that may have mutagenic, teratogenic, or carcinogenic properties. This kind of wastes include residues of certain cytostatic drugs or vomit, urine and faeces from patients treated with cytostatic drugs, chemicals and radioactive material.
Half-Life
The time taken for the radioactivity of a specified isotope to fall to half its original value. For example, “iodine-131 has a half-life of 8.1 days”.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is equipment that will protect the user against health or safety risks at work. It can include items such as safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear, and safety harnesses. It also includes respiratory protective equipment (RPE). The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, electrical, heat, chemicals, biohazards, and airborne particulate matter.
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
A Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is a formal declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) of “an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response”, formulated when a situation arises that is “serious, sudden, unusual, or unexpected”, which “carries implications for public health beyond the affected state’s national border” and “may require immediate international action”.
Puskesmas
Puskesmas (Indonesian: Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat, English: Community Health Centre) are government-mandated community health clinics located across Indonesia. They are overseen by the Indonesian Ministry of Health and provide health-care for the population on the sub-district level.
Regulated Medical Waste (RMW)
Regulated Medical Waste (RMW)—also known as “biohazardous” or “infectious medical” waste—refers to wastes that contain blood, body fluids, or other potentially infectious materials like sharps, as a result posing a risk of transmitting infection.
SARS-CoV-2 Virus
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a provisional name, 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), and has also been called human coronavirus 2019 (HCoV-19 or hCoV-19). First identified in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020 and a pandemic on 11 March 2020. SARS-CoV-2 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus [14] that is contagious in humans. As described by the US National Institutes of Health, it is the successor to SARS-CoV-1, the virus that caused the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak.
Stockholm Convention’s BAT
Under the Stockholm Convention, Best Available Techniques (BAT) are defined as “the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation which indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing in principle the basis for release limitations designed to prevent and, where that is not practicable, generally to reduce releases of chemicals listed in Part I of Annex C and their impact on the environment as a whole”.
UNDP, United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations organisation tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. Headquartered in New York City, it is the largest UN development aid agency, with offices in 170 countries.
WHO, World Health Organization
World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations agency founded in 1948 that connects nations, partners, and people to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable—so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health.
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Metadata
Title
Health-Care Waste Management
Authors
Hamidi Abdul Aziz
Fatehah Mohd Omar
Herni Abdul Halim
Yung-Tse Hung
Copyright Year
2022
Book
Solid Waste Engineering and Management

Print ISBN: 978-3-030-96988-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-96989-9

Copyright Year: 2022

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-96989-9_4