Quantitative assessment of mortuary waste: occupational safety and environmental health

Abstract

Mismanagement of mortuary waste is a significant risk factor for disease transmission. Quantitative estimation of mortuary waste generation is needed to estimate the potential risk and as a basis for any waste treatment, disposal and management plan. Bangladesh, a developing country, is an example where there has been no rigorous estimation of mortuary waste generation and associated risk factors based on a thorough scientific study. The present study used a statistically designed sampling method of waste generation in a broad range to identify the factors associated with public health and environmental safety. The data gathering techniques included observation, formal structured interview, informal dialogue, and waste weighing.The proportion of mortuary waste classified as hazardous by the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines was found to be high. The waste generation rate per dead body was found to be 9.00 ± 2.52kg and average waste generation per day was 918 ± 11kg among the surveyed mortuaries. Operatives dealing with the infectious waste were frequently found to be untrained, without even a basic understanding of the hazards involved. Personal protective equipment was inadequate in most cases, which led to frequent accidental injuries. None of the mortuaries were found to have adequate storage facilities for dead bodies as well as hazardous waste in the context of environmental health and safety. Hazardous waste was dumped into city corporation bins, and disposed of on general landfill sites. As well as exposing the waste to the environment, this could potentially contaminate ground water, soil and sediments, especially as the dumps were located in areas subject to frequent flooding. The significant factor of health and environmental risk was identified as decomposition of dead bodies. The degree to which dead bodies are decomposed is related to the time taken to bring them to the mortuary and to the duration of the autopsies. The delay was due to poor communication, low level of interest, transportation cost, and trying to avoid social harassment. This is the first study to attempt this type of thorough estimation of mortuary waste and assessment of risk on environmental health occupational safety.

Occupational stress and addiction: Possible neurobiological elucidation of medical waste related individuals

“…Job-related stress has previously been linked to vulnerability to drug addiction [38,69,70] . However, multiple social and psychological factors, in addition to biological susceptibilities, also contribute to tendencies to develop drug addictions.…”

Biosafety in autopsy room: an systematic review

“…Formaldehyde is highly volatile and causes several symptoms, including ocular, mucosal and skin irritation (17,57,59). Long-term inhalation has been associated to an increased risk of developing cancer, especially lung cancer (14)(15)(16)(17)57,59). OSHA limited occupational exposure to 0,75 ppm/8 hours and 2,0 ppm/15-minute periods (61).…”

“…Non-height adjustable tables demands inadequate postures or use of platforms. When it is not possible to adjust the height, use lifting elements, with supports and non-slip surfaces, avoiding improvisations with boxes (17,20,21).…”

“…Seated position, repetitive and monotonous movements contribute to spinal problems, muscle pain, tendinitis and bursitis (13,17,18).…”

“…The corpse may contain perforating objects from a previous medical intervention not documented, like filters in the vena cava (31). There are reports of HIV contamination after accidents with fragments of needles in autopsies of subcutaneous intravenous drug user (17,27). There are other infections that can be transmitted by direct inoculation, like tuberculosis, blastomycosis, hepatitis B and C, rabies, tularemia and some types of viral hemorrhagic fever (6,7,23,25).…”