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Article Evaluation

In the article of 'Clinical Physiology' all of the information appears to be relevant to the topic, excpet for some of the data being out-dated from 4 years ago. The article is nuetral toned with clearly stated facts without any unwarranted opinions or biases. It came to my attention that 4 of the 5 sources are Danish and Swedish sources, while only one of them was originally conducted and published in the States. This could raise suspicions of biases. Only 4 of the 5 sources actually work, and they appear to be weak sources. The Talk section also highlights these concerns as well.

Biomedical Waste and the Environment - Outline

Improper disposal of biomedical waste can lead to various factors that are harmful to the environment.

Biomedical Waste and the Ocean

" The most serious effect that illegal bio waste disposal has on our oceans is that it potentially release toxins that are then consumed by sea life and organisms. These toxins can then be passed along the food chain until they reach humans who consume this sea life often unaware than many may contain these harmful toxins."

Incineration of Biomedical Waste

Imapct on groundwater

" The toxic ash residues sent to landfills for disposal have the potential to leach into groundwater. "

Impact on Air

" Medical waste incinerators emit toxic air pollutants and toxic ash residues that are the major source of dioxins in the environment."

Impact on the Environment

" If mercury-containing items are put into a red bag for infectious waste and sent to an incinerator or other waste treatment technology, mercury will contaminate the environment. Airborne mercury then enters a global distribution cycle in the environment, contaminating fish and wildlife."

Environmental Friendly Alternatives

• Auto claving
• Plasma pyrolysis
• Chemical methods
• Microwave irradiation

Other Possible Solutions

• Surveillance
• Regular Cleanups
• Non-routine Cleanups
• Communications Network

The Effects of Biomedical Waste on the Environment - Rough Draft

Accumulation of biomedical waste in hospital basement

Biomedical Waste and the ocean

The Syringe Tide environmental disaster

The Syringe Tide Environmental disaster of the 80's raised awarness towards the amount of medical syringes that washed ashore in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York. A similar situation occured in 2013 and brought upon the Floatables Action Plan. The abundant amount of syringes that washed ashore endangered marine species, and injured humans who regularly visited the beach. After the crises, many scientists and law makers began creating new mechanisms and enforcing laws that forced health care systems to process their bio-waste in an environmentally friendly way.

The Effects of Medical Waste on the Environment

Improper management of health care waste can have both direct and indirect health consequences for health personnel, community members and on the environment. Indirect consequences in the form of toxic emissions from inadequate burning of medical waste, or the production of millions of used syringes in a period of three to four weeks from an insufficiently well planned mass immunization campaign.

Biomedical waste is not limited to medical instruments; it includes medicine, waste stored in red biohazard bags, and materials used for patient care, such as cotton and bandaids. The most serious effect that biomedical waste has on our seas is the discharge of poisons into the waters that could then be consumed by ocean life creatures. Toxins would interject into the food chain and eventually reach humans who consume sea creatures. Human exposure to such toxins can stunt human growth development and cause birth defects.

Incineration of Biomedical Waste

Methods of Biomedical Waste Incineration

The three type of medical waste incinerators are controlled air, excess air, and rotary kiln. Controlled air is also known as s starved-air incineration, two-stage incineration, or modular combustion.This is the process of which waste is fed to a combustion chamber and combustion air begins to dry and facilitates volatilization of the waste. As a result, carbon dioxide and other excess gases are released into the atmosphere.

The second type of incineration is the excess air process. This is similar to the controlled air process, such as the waste being dried, ignited, and combusted by heat provided by the primary chamber burner. However, the main difference is that moisture and volatile components in the waste are vaporized.

In a rotary kiln, the process is similar to the two mention above, however, it is more versatile in terms of being able to mix wet and dry waste components and viewed by many waste engineers as being the most enviornmentally friendly.

Imapct on the Enviornment

Post incineration process, toxic ash residue is produced and is often disposed at land fills. These land fills are not protected by any barrier and the residue has the potential of reaching underground water that is often exposed to human use. The combustion of plastic material releases toxic gases that escapes and joins breathable air. Human and animal exposure to such gases can cause long term breathing and health issues. The rotation of toxic air does not only impact human well-being, but also of animals and plants. Air pollution caused by the incinerators depletes the ozone layer, causes crop and forest damage, and increases climate change.

Environmental Friendly Alternatives

Non-incineration treatment includes four basic processes: thermal, chemical, irradiative, and biological. The main purpose of the treatment technology is to decontaminate waste by destroying pathogens. Modern technology invented mechanics that would allow medical professionals and hospitals to dispose medical waste in an environmentally friendly way; such as: auto claving, plasma pyrolysis, chemical methods, and microwave irradiation. These alternatives are also highly versatile and can be used for all different types of waste.

Auto claving is similar to a pressure cooker which involves using steam at high temperatures which penetrates waste material and kills micro organisms. Autoclave treatment has been recommended for microbiology and biotechnology waste, waste sharps, soiled and solid wastes. Microwave irradiation is based on the principle of generation of high frequency waves. These waves cause the particles within the waste material to vibrate, generating heat and kills the pathogens from within. A simple yet effective method through chemical disinfection; by using 1 % of hypochlorite, the chemical compound can kill thriving bacterias. Plasma pyrolysis is an environment-friendly mechanism, which converts organic waste into commercially useful byproducts. The intense heat generated by the plasma enables it to dispose all types of waste including municipal solid waste, biomedical waste and hazardous waste in a safe and reliable manner.

Other possible Solutions

Initiative from coperations and hospitals is essential to creating a healthier environment, however, there are various methods in which involves action from the general population and would contribute to a clean air environment. By creating surveillance groups within hospitals, everyone would be held accountable for misconduct and improper disposal of waste. Consequences could be implemented where individuals would be required to pay a fine, or face unpaid suspension from work. Companies and governmental organization should also initiate non-routine checkups and searches, this would place pressure on hospitals to ensure that waste is properly disposed all year round. Voluntary clean-ups would involve hopsital staff in assuring that medical waste is not littered around the hospital or thrown into regular garbage bins.