Toxic Environmental Releases from Medical Waste Incineration: A Review

Singh, Satnam; Prakash, V.

doi:10.1007/s10661-006-9503-3

Cited by 73 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…A high As content should be verified in future studies in order to confirm that such high As concentrations may only exceptionally occur. However, similar high values are confirmed for ashes obtained from incineration of medical wastes (Singh 2007). The Sn concentrations were found one order of magnitude higher than in average municipal solid waste samples (Ludwig 2003, Belevi 2000.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Analysis of Heavy Metals in Blister Pack and Medical Gloves Samples

Martišiūtė

Stasiulaitienė

Денафас

et al. 2013

EREM

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Incineration is a common method to treat medical wastes. Whereas pathogens and environmentally problematic organic compounds are destroyed, toxic heavy metals cannot be ruined. In this study heavy metal concentrations of two types of medical wastes were analyzed. Four different blister pack layers (polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinyl chloride/polyvinylidiene chloride with pigment (PVC/PVdCp), polyvinyl chloride/polyvinylidiene chloride transparent (PVC/PVdCt) and polyethylene (PE)) and blister pack as a unit, and three types of medical gloves (latex powdered and powder-free medical gloves, nitrile powder-free medical gloves and vinyl powdered and powder-free medical gloves) were digested using high pressure digestion methods. Different acid mixtures were used to digest the samples. Heavy metal concentrations were analyzed by the inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). As, Fe, Na, P, Sn, Sr and Zn were detected in blister pack and different blister pack layers. Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P, Sr and Zn were detected in three different types of medical gloves. No environmentally relevant elemental concentrations were detected except for Sn and Zn.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.65.3.4157

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Analysis of Heavy Metals in Blister Pack and Medical Gloves Samples

Martišiūtė

Stasiulaitienė

Денафас

et al. 2013

EREM

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.65.3.4157

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“…Incineration of medical waste converts the waste into essentially non-combustible solid residue or ash [1][2][3][4]. Other outputs include flue gas and heat.…”

Section: Incineration Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Medical Waste Incinerator Performance Based on Fuel Consumption and Cycle Times

Manyele

Kagonji²

2012

ENG

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A detailed assessment of an incinerator based on fuel consumption and cycle time data is presented in this paper. The study was conducted at Temeke district hospital for 22 months consecutively covering 654 days of daily data collection on waste loading rate fuel consumption and cycle times. The composition for the medical waste incinerated varied between 15% and 35% for sharps waste and between 65% and 85% for other waste, with mean values of 25% and 75%, respectively. The results revealed poor performance of the incinerator due to higher fuel consumption (above 30 L/cycle). The incineration cycle times were observed to range between 2 and 4 hours, all of which were too high for the loading rates observed (55 -214 kg). A strong dependency of diesel oil consumption on cycle time was observed due to lack of temperature control leading to continuous fuel flow into the burners. The incineration capacity was very low compared to other incinerators in terms of tons per year. This paper gives an insight on the factors affecting incinerator performance assessed based on diesel oil consumption and cycle times. It can be generalized that the incinerator performance was poor due to several factors ranging from poor incinerator design, operator skills, waste management practices, waste storage practices, etc. The hospital was advised to install a new incinerator with short incineration cycle time (30 -40 minutes) and lower fuel consumption (10 L/cycle) at a loading rate of 200 kg/cycle.

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“…Also, incineration is an engineered process that is designed to treat healthcare waste that uses thermal decomposition via thermal oxidation at high temperatures between 900 and 1200ºC to destroy the organic fraction of the waste [31]. The U.S. National Academy of Science in 2000 argued that the emission of pollutants during the incineration process is a potential risk to human health, and living or working near an incineration facility can have social, economic, and psychological effects [32].…”

Section: Incineration Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%