Medical waste, also called as
clinical waste, normally refers to the waste generated from healthcare premises
as a result of healthcare activities that includes a vast range of materials
such as needles, blood, chemicals, syringes, body parts, medical instruments as
well as radioactive substances. Lack of medical waste disposal management poses
risk of infections and diseases to the public and community and also pollutes
the environment. Therefore, it is very important to practice proper clinical
waste treatment measures at the point of generation and dispose them safely.
Different methods of medical waste treatment-
There are a number of methods
available to treat medical waste and render the waste less hazardous and
non-infectious.
Incineration
An incinerator is a device in which waste deposits are burned under
controlled conditions to oxidize carbon and hydrogen present in waste into ash,
flu gases, particulates and heat (this heat is used to produce electricity).
Steam sterilization
Steam sterilizer, also known as
autoclave is commonly used medical waste treatment method for decontaminating
waste. Unlike other sterilization methods, steam sterilization is a cheap and
economical method. In this method, the medical waste is kept in a specialized
sealed chamber and exposed to steam at a particular temperature and pressure
for a specified duration. Steam sterilization is an excellent alternative to
incineration and also helps to diminish the cost of disposing untreated medical
waste.
Gas sterilization
Gas sterilization is a rarely
used method to treat medical waste. In this, medical waste is put in an
evacuated air-tight chamber and treated with a sterilizing agent (such as
ethylene oxide or formaldehyde). The gas comes in contact of the waste, penetrates
and kills the harmful infectious agents.
Chemical disinfection with
grinding
The method involves grinding of
the medical waste before exposing to a liquid chemical disinfectant (such as
chlorine bleach). Grinding of the waste ensures sufficient exposure of the
chemical agent to all the portions of the waste and also helps in easy disposal
of the residues. The resulting liquids are dropped into the sewer system while
the solid residues are disposed in the landfills.
Thermal inactivation
Normally, thermal inactivation method
is used for treating large volumes of liquid waste and involves heating of
waste to temperatures at which infectious agents get killed. The chamber is
preheated to a particular temperature and the waste is held in it for a specified
duration and then released.
Irradiation
Irradiation involves sterilizing
waste by exposing medical waste to a cobalt source. Cobalt gives out gamma
radiations that destroy all microbes present in the waste.
Microwave treatment
Microwave has recently been
introduced in US to disinfect waste. The waste is first shredded before mixing
it with water and then internally heated to neutralize all the biologicals.
Grinding and shredding
This method aids in converting
medical waste into a more uniform mixture that can be handled easily.
Compaction
Compaction is often used to
reduce the waste volume and helps to compress waste to adjust more waste in the
same space.
Keywords- medical
waste, waste, treatment
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