Abstract
Background: The number of studies available on the
performance of on-site medical waste
treatment facilities is rare, to date. The aim of this study
was to evaluate the performance of onsite
medical waste treatment equipment in hospitals of Tabriz,
Iran.
Methods: A various range of the on-site medical waste
disinfection equipment (autoclave,
chemical disinfection, hydroclave, and dry thermal
treatment) was considered to select 10 out of
22 hospitals in Tabriz to be included in the survey. The
apparatus were monitored mechanically,
chemically, and biologically for a six months period in all
of the selected hospitals.
Results: The results of the chemical monitoring (Bowie-Dick
tests) indicated that 38.9% of the
inspected autoclaves had operational problems in pre-vacuum,
air leaks, inadequate steam
penetration into the waste, and/or vacuum pump. The
biological indicators revealed that about
55.55% of the samples were positive. The most of applied
devices were not suitable for treating
anatomical, pharmaceutical, cytotoxic, and chemical waste.
Conclusion: Although on-site medical waste treating
facilities have been installed in all the
hospitals, the most of infectious-hazardous medical waste
generated in the hospitals were
deposited into a municipal solid waste landfill, without
enough disinfection. The responsible
authorities should stringently inspect and evaluate the
operation of on-site medical waste
treating equipment. An advanced off-site central facility
with multi-treatment and disinfection
equipment and enough capacity is recommended as an
alternative.