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Healthcare waste must be managed properly due to the hazards they impose on public health and the environment. In this study, an alternative method of treating infectious waste via thermal treatment using coconut oil was investigated in a laboratory-scale setup. The effects of oil temperature (121°C, 145°C and 170°C) and treatment time (10, 20 and 30 minutes) on bacterial growth and properties of simulated infectious wastes contaminated with Bacillus subtilis were determined. No bacterial growth was observed in the samples even at the seventh day after treatment using 145oC (20- and 30-minute treatment time) and 170°C (all treatment time). However, growth on enriched media occurred for the samples treated at 170°C, indicating possible spore germination. The treatment at 145°C and 30 minutes was effective in treating contaminated syringes and cloths. The contaminated meat samples underwent thermal degradation and had a maximum weight reduction of 74.1%, which was mainly due to moisture loss. The cloths, however, did not change in its appearance but syringes and other plastics melted and deformed. Thus, the thermal treatment was found to be a good disinfection method, causing severe damage to cells. The treated infectious waste materials can be disposed in landfills without potential recurrence of bacterial growth.

The Imus River contributes to the flooding in the lowland areas of Cavite province. This study aimed to assess the flood risk of the Imus River Basin at different rainfall and land use change scenarios. The hydrologic model of the upstream basin was developed in Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) - Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS) and subjected to calibration and validation. The simulated hydrograph fitted very well with observed data as indicated by the NSE, Percent Bias (PBIAS), and Ratio of Root Mean Square Error (RSR) values of 0.903, -0.0376, and 0.3, respectively during calibration, and 0.818, -0.044, and 0.40, respectively after validation. Sensitivity analysis showed that the storage coefficient had the greatest effect while the initial abstraction had the least effect on the model results. With a constant increase of 2.08% in built-up areas from 2015 to 2025 based on the land cover surveys, the peak discharge increased by 2.33% and runoff volume by 1.86% on average. The downstream hydraulic model was done using in Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) – River Analysis System (RAS) and flood maps for normal and climate change-affected conditions were generated to show the extent of flooding. Areas affected by the flood were those situated in the cities of Imus and Bacoor and some portion of the municipality of Kawit.

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