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How many infectious medical waste?
Polaris Energy saving News: With the extensive use of the health care industry and the
development of medical disposable products, medical waste generation is growing rapidly.
The latest data show that there were 261, in the city to the community solid waste
pollution prevention information, only these 261 cities this year, medical waste volume
reached 547,500 tons.
Another one statistics show that at the end of 2012, the total number of medical
institutions of 950 297 beds 5.7248 million, according to an average of 1 kg per bed
medical waste each day, the total amount of medical waste generated in the country each
year to reach 200 million tons.
Faced with such a huge amount of waste generated, but many cities are composed of one or a
small number of waste disposal in a single way of handling medical waste incineration. Once
a case of waste incineration plants shut down, the government and the hospital in the
management of medical waste and daily operations, will face enormous challenges.
In fact, hospital waste generated a large part of municipal solid waste and similar low-
risk waste, about 75% to 90%, the remaining 10% to 25% are considered harmful, it may pose
a health risk, hospitals infectious waste is generally not more than 10% of the total
garbage. Reduce the amount of waste generated must be effective category management as the
premise, but now garbage classification level of the hospital, worrying.
Medical waste collection is key to the implementation of environmentally sound management
of medical wastes, but most Chinese hospitals do not pay attention to the sort processing
medical waste, and open place, no obvious signs, classification level is not high.
General hospital with normal household trash bins and yellow medical, hospital and clinic
staff told Post logo, the swab and other body fluids come into contact with the patient
garbage into yellow garbage bag. But the reporter visited some hospitals found that blood
tests and outpatient medical room yellow garbage bags of medical waste both regions, but
also paper, food packaging and other general household waste.
A survey conducted in a hospital in Wuhu, Anhui Province shows that at some medical
personnel classification concept is unclear, non-infectious waste, such as medical supplies
packaging, special medical waste mixed with yellow bag. Although such an approach did not
cause harm to the spread of disease, but it increases the cost of processing medical waste.
Survey on the status of management and disposal of medical waste in a primary hospital also
showed that the passing rate of garbage deposited only 45%. The survey also pointed out
that a lot of medical waste in the absence of sterilization, transported to the transfer
station processing, which may cause secondary pollution garbage occur during transport.
Many local medical waste disposal fee is calculated according to bed, the amount of waste
generated by hospitals not directly related to the processing fee paid. If the hospital
improve the management level, reducing the amount of waste generated, and the same number
of beds, garbage fees will not be reduced, so that is not conducive to encouraging
hospitals source waste separation and reduction.
Medical waste are complicated, including infectious wastes, pathological wastes, chemical
wastes and damaging waste, etc., relating to different textile materials, plastics, glass,
metal and human organizations, a single treatment is difficult to achieve for a variety of
medical garbage harmless treatment.
For different types of medical waste, we have a different processing method and apparatus
have been developed and used around the world. In order to reduce global pollution of
dioxins and furans, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the World
Health Organization recommends the use of other alternative forms burned. Autoclaving is
probably the most widely used non-burning disinfection, in addition to chemical processing
technology, processing technology and microwave plasma processing technology.
China is now widely used is incineration, this approach tends to produce large amounts of
harmful gas mixture, including hydrochloric acid, dioxins and furans, as well as toxic
metals lead, cadmium and mercury.
A more complete medical waste incineration system shall include the feed system,
incinerator, combustion air system, start the ignition and burn-assisted system, flue gas
purification system, and the residue handling system, automatic monitoring system and
emergency system, which flue gas cleaning system is used to cut dioxin, mercury and other
highly toxic substances by incineration. However, research shows that some old equipment
medical incinerators, waste is a direct smoke exhaust emissions.
South China Institute of Environmental Sciences once a medical waste incineration plant in
Guangdong Province as the research object, through the collection and analysis incineration
plant and the surrounding soil and plant samples, PAHs understand incineration plant (PAHs)
distribution, sources and pollution levels. The results show that medical incinerators soil
surrounding a certain degree of contamination of PAHs detected in the soil 16 polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs total amount ranging 11.83ng / g ~ 788.24ng / g, mean 236.681ng
/ g; in the study area downwind of the prevailing winds in the soil, total PAHs were
significantly higher than the prevailing winds soil content, and the total concentration of
PAHs in soil increases with distance showed a gradual decrease.
Waste incineration industry momentum is fierce level of related facilities to be improved
[China] Solid Waste Environmental online waste incineration industries development momentum is fierce, and the brightest of capital chasing even appear several times in the last year the price of handling fee diving, industry raised concerns about the vicious competition. “Thirteen Five” during garbage construction market investment space at 1000 billion yuan; the growing garbage incineration capacity of the operation of the facility, the regulatory level challenges. Many industry companies said in simple incineration links, market competition is too fierce, competitive professional enterprises should play in the field of business models and technological innovation.
Waste incineration industry momentum is fierce level of related facilities to be improved
“Twelve Five” is a fast-growing garbage incineration five years. According to relevant statistics, in 2015, the national city and county has accumulated garbage incineration capacity of about 233,000 tons / day. Waste incineration industries development momentum is fierce, and the brightest of capital chasing even appear several times in the last year the price of handling fee diving, industry raised concerns about the vicious competition. Which is still used as the main way of landfill waste, mostly due to the local authorities responsible for managing the operations, the market is not high, remain “low key.”
The future will continue to heat a cold do?
In this regard, some experts pointed out that, on the one hand, waste incineration will continue to grow, but the amount of accumulation and qualitative improvement of equal importance, particularly waste incineration emissions formal implementation of new standards for operation of the facility and set higher requirements; on the other hand landfill as an indispensable and irreplaceable resource, is still dealing with the mainstream. But to find out the remaining storage capacity, make good use of good management will become critical; at the same time, non-canonical transformation landfill, pollution, etc. also brought closure to repair the relevant market opportunities.
According to the deputy director of the Research Center for Environmental Health Engineering Department of Housing and General Workers Liujing Hao introduction, facility upgrades will be the next five years, important content. “China’s solid waste disposal facilities (landfill, incineration plant) construction and development is very fast, there are a number of construction and operation of the facility has a large room for improvement. There are many old landfills need to maintain and update, so as not to pollute the surrounding environment. Some of the early construction of incineration plants need to be upgraded or reset. ”
Incineration facilities is still on the rise
“Thirteen Five” during garbage construction market investment space at 1000 billion yuan; the growing garbage incineration capacity of the operation of the facility, the regulatory level challenges.
‘Facilities’ second five’ plan basically completed the goal. “China Urban Environmental Health Association and vice president, director of the Research Center for Environmental Health Engineering Department of Housing and Xu Wenlong said that according to” the “second five” national urban domestic garbage treatment facility construction plan, “clearly incineration project the total size of 307,200 tons / day. Although the end of 2015, the national total incineration capacity of 233,000 tons / day, but the size of the project currently under construction there of about 10 tons / day, and basically complete the planning and construction scale.
Planning and completion of high interest capital markets has a direct relationship. Construction and operation of waste incineration facility has become one of the segments of capital chasing the parties, after the project in a constant rise to fierce “fight.”
The next five years, incineration facilities construction market is still big? In this regard, the Executive President of the Institute of E20 Xue Tao believes that incineration facilities will maintain growth. “In the construction of garbage ‘Thirteen Five’ period, probably in the investment market space, building space is at 100 billion yuan.”
Xu Wenlong believes that new market does still have a better chance. Currently, most of the city and most of the county’s garbage can be effectively collected and treatment and disposal in sanitary landfill and incineration plants. But still there are gaps in waste disposal facilities, the new facility is still one of the main tasks of the current and the next five-year plan. “According to the relevant national planning, the national MSW incineration capacity in 2020 will exceed 40 tons / day in 2025 up to 50 tons / day. By then, China’s demand for incineration facilities will reach a relatively stable state.”
Accumulation in the continued qualitative improvement already started. From January 1 this year, all new country, has been running garbage incinerator must perform a new “garbage burning pollution control standards” (GB18485-2014) (hereinafter referred to as the new standard) of emission limits. New standards for conventional pollutants, dioxin contamination compared to the previous standard have more stringent requirements.
(Source: China Association of gravel)
Article Links: China Environmental Protection online http://www.hbzhan.com/news/detail/105016.html
Incinerator Maximizing Combustion Efficiency
More smoke and other pollutants are released into the air during the ‘start-up’ and ‘cool down’ phases of the burn cycle
than during the ‘full burn phase’ when high temperatures are maintained. Low temperature smoldering fires should be
avoided. Burn only dry feedstock and periodically add additional waste to the fire in order to maintain high burn
temperatures until all waste has been destroyed. If waste is to be open burned on the ground, the use of deep or steep-walled
‘pits’ should be avoided as this will prevent the necessary turbulent mixing of oxygen with the burnable gases.
Desired operating temperature should be achieved as quickly as possible when operating any burning or incineration device. A
rapid ‘start-up’ can be achieved by first loosely loading dry paper, paperboard packing and untreated wood into the bottom
of the device. Dry, loosely loaded material will ignite more quickly and burn more evenly than a wet, tightly packed load.
Wet waste should only be added after the fire is actively burning. Overfilling the burn chamber will prevent the turbulent
mixing of burnable gases and oxygen, and should be avoided.
Modern batch feed incinerators are designed with primary and auxiliary burners to achieve and maintain the necessary high
burn temperatures. Additional waste should only be added to these incinerators once the ‘cool down’ phase has been
completed and it is safe to do so.
Wastes That Can be Burned or Incinerated
Complete combustion converts waste into inert bottom ash with minimal creation of smoke, fly ash and hazardous
gases. Several factors influence this process including the heating value, wetness and chemical composition of the
waste itself, operating conditions in the burn chamber (i.e. temperature, holding time and turbulence) and
operator skill.
The method used is important in determining what can safely be burned. Certain wastes can only be incinerated
using equipment that has been specifically designed and equipped with sufficient air pollution controls and that
achieve specific air emission standards. For example, waste containing chlorinated compounds (i.e. chlorinated
solvents and plastics, PVC piping, wood treated with pentachlorophenol or PCB-amended paint, marine driftwood)
must be separated from other waste as their burning will result in the de novo creation and emission of various
dioxin and furan compounds. Waste containing mercury (i.e. batteries, thermostats and fluorescent light bulbs) and
other heavy metals (i.e. lead acid batteries, wood treated with lead paint) should not be burned as the mercury
and heavy metals will not be destroyed. Other waste that should not be burned unless using specially designed
incinerators include used lubricating oil, hydrocarbon contaminated soil, biomedical waste, sewage sludge or any
other waste specifically prohibited by the Department of Environment.
Table 2 provides a listing of common wastes that can be burned and those that require special consideration and
treatment. Note that open burning and incineration are identified as separate columns in the table and that
different restrictions apply depending upon which method is used. In general, more restrictions apply to the
various methods of open burning because of the incomplete combustion achieved. Fewer restrictions apply to
incineration because of the operator’s ability to control the combustion process.
Non-combustible materials such as metal and glass do not burn and will rob heat away from waste that can be
destroyed by burning. Combustible waste should always be separated from non-combustible waste before being loaded
into the burn chamber.
BURNING AND INCINERATION OF SOLID WASTE
Biomedical Waste Any solid or liquid waste which may present a threat of infection to humans including non-liquid tissue, body parts, blood or blood products and body fluids, laboratory and veterinary waste which contains human disease- causing agents, and discarded sharps (i.e. syringes, needles, scalpel blades).
Bottom Ash The course non-combustible and unburned material which remains at the burn site after burning is complete. This includes materials remaining in the burn chamber, exhaust piping and pollution control devices where such devices are used.
Burn Box A large metal box used to burn solid waste. Combustion air is usually supplied passively through vents or holes cut above the bottom of the box. An exhaust pipe or stack may or may not be attached.
Commercial Camp A temporary, seasonal or multi-year facility with a capacity greater than 15 people and which has been established for research, commercial or industrial purposes. A commercial camp does not include a traditional camp or field camp.
Commissioner’s Land Lands that have been transferred by Order-in-Council to the Government of Nunavut. This includes roadways and land subject to block land transfers. Most Commissioner’s Land is located within municipalities.
Contaminant Any noise, heat, vibration or substance and includes such other substance as the Minister may prescribe that, where discharged into the environment,
- endangers the health, safety or welfare of persons,
- interferes or is likely to interfere with the normal enjoyment of life or property,
- endangers the health of animal life, or
- causes or is likely to cause damage to plant life or to propert
Determined Effort The ongoing review of opportunities for reductions and the implementation of changes or emission control upgrades that are technically and economically feasible and which result in on-going reductions in emissions. Determined efforts include the development and implementation of waste management planning which is focussed on pollution prevention.
De Novo Synthesis The creation of complex molecules from simple molecules.
Environment The components of the Earth and includes
- air, land and water,
- all layers of the atmosphere,
- all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms, and
- the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c) above.
Field Camp A temporary, seasonal or multi-year facility consisting of tents or other similar temporary structures with a capacity of 15 people or less and which has been established for research, commercial or industrial purposes. A field camp does not include a traditional camp or commercial camp.
Fly Ash Unburned material that is emitted into the air in the form of smoke or fine particulate matter during the burning process.
Hazardous Waste A contaminant that is a dangerous good and is no longer wanted or is unusable for its original intended purpose and is intended for storage, recycling, treatment or disposal.
Incineration A treatment technology involving the destruction of waste by controlled burning at high temperatures.
Incinerator A device or structure intended primarily to incinerate waste for the purpose of reducing its volume, destroying a hazardous substance in the waste or destroying an infectious substance in the waste. An incinerator has means to control the burning and ventilation processes.
Inspector A person appointed under subsection 3(2) of the Environmental Protection Act and includes the Chief Environmental Protection Officer.
Modified Burn Barrel A metal drum used to burn waste that has been affixed with devices or features which provide limited increased heat generation, heat retention and holding time.
Open Burning Burning of waste with limited or no control of the burn process. For clarity, open burning includes burning on the open ground or using a burn box or unmodified or modified burn barrel.
Qualified Person A person who has an appropriate level of knowledge and experience in all relevant aspects of waste management.
Responsible Party The owner or person in charge, management or control of the waste.
Smoke The gases, particulate matter and all other products of combustion emitted into the atmosphere when a substance or material is burned including dust, sparks, ash, soot, cinders and fumes.
Solid Waste Unwanted solid materials discarded from a household (i.e. single or multiple residential dwellings, other similar permanent or temporary dwellings), institutional (i.e. schools, government facilities, hospitals and health centres), commercial (i.e. stores, restaurants) or industrial (i.e. mineral, oil and gas exploration and development) facility. For clarity, solid waste does not include biomedical waste, hazardous waste or sewage sludge.
Traditional Camp A temporary or seasonal camp used primarily for camping, hunting, fishing or other traditional or cultural activities. A traditional camp does not include a field camp or commercial camp.
Unmodified Burn Barrel A metal drum used to burn waste that has not been affixed with devices or features which provide for enhanced heat generation, heat retention and holding time.
Untreated Wood Wood that has not been chemically impregnated, painted or similarly modified to improve resistance to insects or weathering.
Waste Audit An inventory or study of the amount and type of waste that is produced at a location.
