Epa In Cooperation With Moh Is Discussing Best Ways Of Disposing Medical Waste

As part of its keenness to develop a system for recycling and safe disposal of waste, the Environment Public Authority in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, is currently looking for the best ways to receive clinical waste and medicines from health care institutions, in addition to plans to establish, supply, operate, manage and maintain a clinical waste treatment unit, based on the Ministry’s strategy to dispose and treat medical waste generated by the health care facilities in the public and private sectors.

Commenting on this, environmental researcher Israa Buhamad, who has completed her master’s thesis on the issue of medical waste, said “medical waste is disposed of in Kuwait in two ways, either by sterilization of the materials to be reused or by incineration,” noting that “the rate of gas emission produced by the incinerators are within the permissible limits by the Environment Public Authority,” reports Al-Rai daily.

Buhamad added the “the expected increase in the amount of waste, in light of the increase in the population and the need for expansion in Kuwait’s hospitals to increase their capacity, and the possibility of an increase in the rate of gas emissions in the future, waste recycling, and sterilization should be taken into account,” and said the results of the questionnaire showed a low level of knowledge of cleaning workers and administrators, while the nursing staff is fully aware how to handle this waste.

She pointed out that the study which she conducted showed a lack of training programs in the medical sector, as 60 percent of the cleaners are not enlightened about such material and 70 percent of them were exposed to diseases that they did not report, and field visits showed a shortage of proper disposal of medical waste.

She went on to say, “The final disposal of healthcare waste is carried out through three institutions — the Ministry of Health, the Environment Public Authority and the Public Authority for Industry, and passes through two stages: the first is incineration and the second is a burial in landfills,” noting that “the ashes resulting from incineration of medical waste, which is classified among the solid waste is highly dangerous, it is collected manually and transported to landfills and backfilled at the site of the hazardous waste materials,” pointing out that “the amount of this ash during one year is approximately 78,030 kilos.”

For his part, the former Dean of the College of Health Sciences, Dr. Faisal Al-Sharifi, told Al-Rai “there is lack of training for workers who deal with medical waste,” pointing out that “the safe transportation of waste requires intensifying training courses for workers, whether cleaners or medical staff, to protect them from diseases.”

He indicated that “the recycling process may be appropriate, but it is expensive, and this requires us to focus on raising the efficiency of incinerators and ensuring their quality.”

Buhamad pointed out that the study concluded the need to take some measures, the most prominent of which are:
1 – Continuous maintenance of incinerators
2 – Raising the awareness of workers in the health sector
3 – Reducing the amount of medical waste
4 – Providing an integrated management system for waste management
5 – Introducing waste shredding technology in addition to incinerators
6 – Introducing the scanner mechanism in the waste weighing process

The Ministry of Health manages a number of health incinerators that are operated continuously, the largest of which is the Danish-made central incinerator in the Shuaiba area, which is the latest incinerator installed and operated in the Ministry, and has a capacity to burn 500 kg per hour, and can burn contaminated liquids.

Al-Shuaiba incinerator is operated by the computer and has a device to measure the gases and materials that result from combustion, and the burning temperature in the main room is between 800 and 1000 degrees Celsius, while the burning temperature in the secondary room reaches 1200 degrees Celsius.

 

SOURCE  :   TIMES KUWAIT

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