Life-cycle environmental and economic assessment of medical waste treatment

Hong, Jingmin; Song, Zhan; Yu, Zhaohe; Hong, Jinglan; Qi, Congcong

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.206

Cited by 123 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Alternatively, incineration is chosen. The whole treatment process, compliant with the existing international best practices, described by [30,37], is represented in Figure 2.…”

Section: Medical Waste Classification and Optimal Treatment Optionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, policymakers and planners implemented building MW disposal plants to meet the requirements of MW management. Planning operations were also supported by life-cycle assessment (LCA), which was applied to estimate the costs of commonly-used MW treatment technologies and to provide useful insights for MW treatment alternatives [30]. To date, many analytical tools have been used to compare waste disposal strategies, including cost-benefit analysis, life cycle assessment, the analytic hierarchy process and their combinations [31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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LCA of Hospital Solid Waste Treatment Alternatives in a Developing Country: The Case of District Swat, Pakistan

et al. 2019

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Improper management of hospital waste leads to serious health and environmental issues, particularly in the case of developing countries, where, often, applied technologies are obsolete and there is a lack of compliance with respect to international best practices. The present study is designed to assess the environmental impacts of hospital waste management practices in Swath District, Pakistan. For this purpose, a life-cycle assessment (LCA) is applied for the estimation of different impacts of current and alternative hospital solid waste (HSW) treatment practices. Two scenarios are used to describe the current alternative practices (Scenario A and Scenario B), referring either to incineration or to direct landfilling of HSW without any sorting of collected materials. Conversely, Scenario C, which includes the use of pyrolysis and chemical disinfection, are considered as an up-to-date alternative, based on current international recommendations in this field. Prior to the analysis of impacts, due to the lack of available information, data were directly collected from both government and private hospitals in District Swat, involving measurements and a characterization of collected waste. In parallel, interviews were conducted, involving the hospitals’ personnel. With respect to waste generation, government hospitals produce a larger amount of waste (74%) compared to private hospitals (24%). Poor regulatory indications and the absence of clear obligations for collection, disposal and management still represent a first obstacle to implement good practices. After defining the boundary of the system and the functional unit, according to standardized LCA practices, a life--cycle impact assessment (LCIA) was conducted, considering eight impact categories: human toxicity, freshwater eco-toxicity, marine aquatic eco-toxicity, terrestrial eco-toxicity, acidification potential, climate change, eutrophication and photochemical oxidation. The current practices (Scenario A and Scenario B) turned out to be the worst for all categories. In particular, the largest impact of all is recorded for human toxicity generated by incineration. In parallel, it must be considered that, currently, no recycling or reusing practices are implemented. Conversely, Scenario C (alternative up-to-date practices) would generate lower impacts. In detail, the highest value was recorded for marine aquatic ecotoxicity in relation to pyrolysis. Applying Scenario C, it would be possible to recover some materials, such as plastics, paper and sharps. In detail, considering the observed compositional characteristics, it would be possible to recover up to 78% of sharps and recycle 41% of plastic and paper from the general waste stream. Moreover, energy could be recovered from the pyrolysis process, generating a further benefit for the surrounding area. A lack of awareness, knowledge and infrastructures prevents the application of correct management practices, further degrading life and environmental conditions of this remote region of Pakistan. The huge difference in impacts between current practices and alternatives is demonstrated, showing a clear alternative for future management plans in this remote region and supporting future actions for local policymakers and hospital managers.

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“…Alternatively, incineration is chosen. The whole treatment process, compliant with the existing international best practices, described by [30,37], is represented in Figure 2.…”

Section: Medical Waste Classification and Optimal Treatment Optionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

LCA of Hospital Solid Waste Treatment Alternatives in a Developing Country: The Case of District Swat, Pakistan

et al. 2019

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“…Globally, with the technological advances and service coverage of the health sector, a large quantity of medical plastic wastes have been generated ( Hong et al, 2018 ; Duan et al, 2008 ). There is an urgent need for a cleaner and safer disposal and treatment of the rapidly growing medical plastic wastes, in particular, given the raised public concern about epidemics including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), coronavirus (COVID-19), and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) ( Yang et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2018, 200 large and medium-sized cities in China generated about 817,000 tons of medical wastes ( MEPC, 2019 ). On average, Chinese medical wastes are composed mainly of 45 % plastic, 20 % moisture, 13 % paper and cotton yarn, 10 % glass, and 12 % other materials (e.g., needle, surgical waste, and medicine) ( Hong et al, 2018 ) and may have as high as 70 % organic content ( Fang et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pyrolysis dynamics of two medical plastic wastes: Drivers, behaviors, evolved gases, reaction mechanisms, and pathways

Ding

Huashan²,

Liu

et al. 2021

Journal of Hazardous Materials

110

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“…Although these mobile facilities were designed and built based on the current regulations and laws, the preferential treatment approaches of HCWs are still the stationary facilities due to the actual treatment efficiency and secondary environmental risks ( Liu et al., 2009 ; Tiller and Linscott, 2004 ; Wu et al., 2011 ). Microwave disinfection and steam disinfection are both effective technologies for the disinfection of HCWs ( Hong et al., 2018 ; Oliveira et al., 2010 ; Wang et al., 2020 ). The disinfected HCWs should be further treated according to the regulations ( MEE, 2006a , b ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergency response to the explosive growth of health care wastes during COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China

Yang

Xiao²,

Wu³

et al. 2021

Resources, Conservation and Recycling

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Hightlights The integrated management of HCWs in Wuhan was investigated and analyzed. The scope of HCWs was extended to reduce the transmitting risk of COVID-19. Stationary and co-processing facilities were preferential for HCWs disposal in Wuhan. The practices on HCWs are suggestive for other densely populated metropolises.

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Life-cycle environmental and economic assessment of medical waste treatment

Cited by 123 publications

References 13 publications

LCA of Hospital Solid Waste Treatment Alternatives in a Developing Country: The Case of District Swat, Pakistan

LCA of Hospital Solid Waste Treatment Alternatives in a Developing Country: The Case of District Swat, Pakistan

Pyrolysis dynamics of two medical plastic wastes: Drivers, behaviors, evolved gases, reaction mechanisms, and pathways

Emergency response to the explosive growth of health care wastes during COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China

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