| 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. |