Lecture-12:

Waste Management

Scientific Ethics and

Safety
ENGR / SCI 304 Sherif H. El-Gohary , Phd
Assistant Professor,Biomedical Engineering
Partly compiled from internet sources shamdy@zewailcity.edu.eg
 Learner Outcomes
Safe, healthy & productive workplace
environment
Responsible and effectively handling of
hazardous waste
Good lab waste handling etiquette
Municipal and government laws exist to
regulate and control hazardous waste disposal
S-M-A-R-T
Save
Money
And
Reduce
Trash

Residents can save when they reduce the amount

of trash they produce
 What are Wastes?
Waste (also known as rubbish, trash, refuse, garbage, junk, litter, and ort)
is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many
unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms,
metabolic waste; such as urea and sweat.

Basel Convention Definition of Wastes

“substances or objects which are disposed of or are intended to
be disposed of or are required to be disposed of by the
provisions of the law”

Disposal means
“any operation which may lead to resource recovery, recycling,
reclamation, direct re-use or alternative uses (Annex IVB of the
Basel convention)”
Solid Waste
 PROBLEMS

 We loose our non-renewable natural resources

 We throw away a lot of material and energy

present in waste

 We produce waste having a changed

composition and characteristics as the raw
materials used

 We pollute and poison the environment

Sources of Wastes

Households

Commerce and
Industry
What’s in our trash?
Kinds of Wastes
Solid wastes: wastes in solid forms,
domestic, commercial and industrial wastes
Examples: plastics, styrofoam containers, bottles,
cans, papers, scrap iron, and other trash

Liquid Wastes: wastes in liquid form

Examples: domestic washings, chemicals, oils, waste

water from ponds, manufacturing
industries and other sources
Classification of wastes according
to their origin and type

Municipal Solid wastes: Solid wastes that include

household garbage, rubbish, construction &
demolition debris, sanitation residues, packaging
materials, trade refuges etc. are managed by any
municipality.
Bio-medical wastes: Solid or liquid wastes including
containers, intermediate or end products generated
during diagnosis, treatment & research activities of
medical sciences.
Industrial wastes: Liquid and solid wastes that are
generated by manufacturing & processing units of
various industries like chemical, petroleum, coal,
metal gas, sanitary & paper etc.
Classification of wastes according
to their origin and type
Agricultural wastes: Wastes generated from farming
activities. These substances are mostly biodegradable.
Fishery wastes: Wastes generated due to fishery activities.
These are extensively found in coastal & estuarine areas.
Radioactive wastes: Waste containing radioactive
materials. Usually these are byproducts of nuclear
processes. Sometimes industries that are not directly
involved in nuclear activities, may also produce some
radioactive wastes, e.g. radio-isotopes, chemical sludge etc.
E-wastes: Electronic wastes generated from any modern
establishments. They may be described as discarded
electrical or electronic devices. Some electronic scrap
components, such as CRTs, may contain contaminants
such as Pb, Cd, Be or brominated flame retardants.
 What is health-care
waste?
“Health-care waste includes all the waste generated by
health-care establishments, research facilities, and
laboratories. In addition, it includes the waste originating
from “minor” or “scattered” sources--such as that produced
in the course of health care undertaken in the home
(dialysis, insulin injections, etc.).”
Categories of health care waste

Sharps: Used or unused sharps

e.g. hypodermic, intravenous or other needles; auto-
disable syringes; syringes with attached needles; infusion
sets; scalpels; pipettes; knives; blades; broken glass
Infectious: Infectious waste is material suspected to
contain pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi)
in sufficient concentration or quantity to cause disease in
susceptible hosts. This category includes: waste
contaminated with blood or other body fluids, cultures and stocks of
infectious agents from laboratory work, waste from infected patients
in isolation wards; dressings, bandages and other material
contaminated with blood or other body fluids
Pathological: Human tissues, organs or fluids; body
parts; fetuses; unused blood products
Categories of waste (cont)

Pharmaceutical : Pharmaceuticals that are expired or no

longer needed; items contaminated by or containing pharmaceuticals;
Cytotoxic waste containing substances with genotoxic properties
waste containing cytostatic drugs (often used in cancer therapy)
genotoxic chemicals)
Chemical: Waste containing chemical substances
(e.g. laboratory reagents; film developer; disinfectants that are
expired or no longer needed; solvents; waste with high content of
heavy metals, e.g. batteries; broken thermometers and blood pressure
gauges)
Radioactive: Waste containing radioactive substances
(e.g. unused liquids from radiotherapy or laboratory research;
contaminated glassware, packages, or absorbent paper; urine and
excreta from patients treated or tested with unsealed radionuclides;
sealed sources)
Hazardous Waste

• Any waste that directly or indirectly represents a

threat to human health or to the environment by
introducing one or more of the following risks:
• Explosion or fire
• Infections, pathogens, parasites or their vectors
• Chemical instability, reactions or corrosion
• Acute or chronic toxicity
• Cancer, mutations or birth defects
• Toxicity or damage to the ecosystems or natural
resources
• Accumulation in the biological food chain,
persistence in the environment or multiple effects
CHEMICAL WASTE

16
SABS Code 0028
ID & classification dangerous goods and
substances

Class 1 Explosives
Class 2 Gases
Class 3 Flammable liquids
Class 4 Flammable solids
Class 5 Oxidizing substances and organic peroxides
Class 6 Toxic and infectious substances
Class 7 Radioactive Substances
Class 8 Corrosives
Class 9 Other miscellaneous substances
 Segregate chemical waste
• Proper segregation =good chemical hygiene + safe
workplace environment
• Only put compatible chemicals in a container
• Also do not store the following near each other
• Acids and bases
• Organics and acids
• Powdered or reactive metals and combustible materials
• Cyanide, sulfide or arsenic compounds and acids
• Mercury or silver and ammonium containing compounds

• Do not mix solids and liquids

• Halogenated with non-halogenated chemicals
18
Chemical Waste Compatibility (1)

• Incompatible chemical waste not be mixed or

store together
• If it must be store in same area – separated
secondary containment
• Container must be compatible with the waste:
• Mineral acids - plastic
• Bases -Plastic
• Oxidizers - Glass
• Organics (incl Acetic acid) - Glass
Chemical Waste Compatibility (2)

Take special care of:

• Nitric acid:
Reacts with organics-heat & gas
Be sure container is rinse thoroughly
• Perchloric acid, Organic Peroxides:
Highly reactive with organics and organic
material (wood). May react with metals
• Hydrofluoric acid:
Dissolves glass containers
Packaging of chemical waste (1)

Place hazardous waste in sealable containers

Sized from 25L to 200L, plastic or metal.
Containers must be kept closed.
Do not leave a hazardous waste container
with a funnel in it.
Glass bottles with waste must be packed
with vermiculite into bigger containers.
Packaging of chemical waste (2)
The container should not react with the waste
being stored (e.g. NO hydrofluoric acid in glass)
Similar wastes may be mixed if they are
compatible
Wastes from incompatible hazard classes should
not be mixed (e.g. organic solvents with oxiders)
Be aware that certain metals also cause disposal
problems when mixed with flammable liquid or
other organic liquids.

22
Labeling
Must be labeled as HAZARDOUS
WASTE
Should be accurate, legible and fully
explained
Contain name of the department, lab
group name, contact person details, content
and concentration, hazard class, date
Waste vs. used
No old labels
23
 BIOLOGICAL WASTE
• Definition: Waste generated from biologically-
cultured stocks and plates, molecular material,
blood, animal and plant tissues etc.
• All sharps e.g. glass implements, needles, syringes,
blades, glass Pasteur pipettes
• Separate biological waste from chemical hazardous
waste
• Treat to eliminate biohazard by sterilization or
incineration
• Label correct, use biohazard tape
 Containers –Biological
• Biohazard Sharp
containers
• Disposal sharp bio-
hazardous waste
• 100% puncture proof
• Available in 4, 7.6, 10, 15
and 25 l
• Destruction by high
temp
 Containers –Biological
• Specimen bins
• For safe human and
animal tissue disposal.
• Ideal for wet waste
• Available in 2.5, 5 and
10 l bin
• Destruction by high
temp
27
 Points to remember
No bio-hazardous waste shall be stored for
longer than 24 hours without being
decontaminated
Decontaminated bio-hazardous waste stored up
to 30 days
No storage public areas
Store under refrigeration if necessary to prevent
odors
Sharps containers treated as regular bio-
hazardous waste
RADIOACTIVE WASTE
• Radioisotope Disposal
• Licenses
• Scintillation Solvents

Tulane University - Office of Environmental Health & Safety (OEHS)

Storage of Radioactive Waste

• Store waste in only approved bags and container.

• Bags – Yellow with Radiation label
• Boxes – Line with yellow bag
• Bottles – Attach Radiation label
• DO NOT use anything that can be mistaken for a
ordinary trash container
• When full label with user’s name and dept., isotope,
activity, fill date and seal with a liquid tight tie-off
WASTE CONTAINERS

Not This

But
WASTE CONTAINERS

THIS
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE
• Reduce Waste
 Reduce office paper waste by implementing a formal
policy to duplex all draft reports and by making training
manuals and personnel information available
electronically.

 Improve product design to use less materials.

 Redesign packaging to eliminate excess material while

maintaining strength.

- Work with customers to design and implement a

packaging return program.

- Switch to reusable transport containers.

- Purchase products in bulk.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE
Reuse
Reuse corrugated moving boxes internally.

Reuse office furniture and supplies, such as interoffice

envelopes, file folders, and paper.

Use durable towels, tablecloths, napkins, dishes, cups,

and glasses.

Use incoming packaging materials for outgoing

shipments.

Encourage employees to reuse office materials rather

than purchase new ones.
Why minimize waste?
waste No waste
Source disposal minimisation

to
treatment With waste
Source waste disposal minimisation,
recycling and
treatment
Off-site
On-site
recycling
recycling
Preferred hierarchy of
waste management options
Source reduction

On-site/off-site Waste
recycling diversion

Treatment

Final disposal
 Waste
• Minimizing solid waste
 Minimizing packaging
 Recyclable
Paper, plastics, metals,
glass, wood
 Reusable ?
Textiles, leather, rubber,
metals, wood
 Compostable
Yard trimmings, food
scraps (vegetable)
Burning Wastes
• Mass burn
incineration
• Air pollution
• Waste to energy
Sanitary Landfill
Sanitary Landfills: Trade-offs
Factors influencing
waste minimization

•Government policy and regulations

•Technological feasibility
•Economic viability
•Management commitment and support
 E-Waste
Computers, Monitors, &
Televisions
• Contain Heavy Metals
• Lead, Cadmium, Copper, Nickel, Tin, Cobalt
• Improper Disposal – Contaminate Landfill and
Groundwater
• Classified as Universal Hazardous Waste
• Cannot Be Thrown into Regular Trash
• Computers
DANGERS OF E-WASTE

Component Hazardous Materials

CRT Pb, As, Hg, P
LCD Hg
Fluorescent Hg, P, flame retardants (FR)
lamp
Cooling Ozone depleting substance (ODS)
system
Others Se, AsO3, Cd, Cr, Co, Mn, Br, Ba
Engr. Dr. Y. A. Adediran, FNSE NSE
Ilorin Branch, 28/7/2011
WHY IS E-WASTE A PROBLEM?

E-Waste poses a serious threat to human health and

the environment.

More Increasing
Rapid Increased human
More Hazardous
technological electronics health risks
E-Waste materials
changes purchase
in landfills

46
SPECIAL E-WASTE CHALLENGES
• High Volume of e-Waste (the highest growing stream of
urban solid waste generation),

• Limits or restrictions to dump e-waste with Municipal Solid

Waste in Landfills,

• Growing number of Product Types,

• Heavy, Bulky and complex Waste to process,

• Requires special logistics and new handling facilities, with new

e-waste processing Technology

• Most of the end users keep the e-scrap in warehouses, garages

or attics;
E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream
but also the richest above ground mine

• 67 million metric tons of electrical and electronic

equipment were put on the market in 2013

• 53 million metric tons e-waste were disposed of worldwide

in 2013.

• For every one million cell phones that are recycled, 16 tons
of copper, 350 kilos of silver, 34 kilos of gold and 15 kilos of
palladium can be recovered

• Global industry trends: >50 % of the iron, copper,

aluminum and lead coming from “urban Mining”
Companies
Converting organics to renewable energy

Harvest Power’s anaerobic digesters will create biogas that will be used
to generate renewable electricity from organic material.
Converting organics to biofuel

Terrabon is developing a process that will ultimately convert food waste

into biofuel (i.e. green gasoline or diesel fuel)

©2012 Waste Management

Converting mixed-waste-plastics to high-
octane syncrude

Converts low value, hard to

recycle and contaminated
plastics into a high value,
synthetic crude oil.

The first plant is operating in

the Portland, Oregon area
with the second in the final
permitting process.
Converting MSW to alternative
transportation fuels, electricity and
manufacturing feedstocks

InEnTec’s plasma
gasification technology
will produce flexible,
clean fuels and energy.

The first facility has been

constructed in
Arlington, Oregon and
is ramping up its
operations.
Converting waste into ethanol

Enerkem’s gasification technology converts waste materials

into a locally produced green fuel.

Feedstock includes municipal solid waste, construction and

demolition wood and forest residuals.
Converting waste into ethanol

Produces ethanol from MSW.

Fulcrum uses a dual stage

gasification process that has
been tested over the past two
years at a smaller scale.

The first plant is permitted and

is being built in Storey
County, Nevada. Sierra
BioFuels will be completed
in 2013.
 Tools to support Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and health care waste
interventions in settings

Safe health-care
waste management
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

POLICY PAPER

1 - Unsafe health-care waste management leads to death and disability

Health-care activities lead to the production of waste that may lead to adverse health effects. Most of this waste
is not more dangerous than regular household waste. However, some types of health-care waste represent a
higher risk to health. These include infectious waste (15% to 25% of total health-care waste) among which are
sharps waste (1%), body part waste (1%), chemical or pharmaceutical waste (3%), and radioactive and
cytotoxic waste or broken thermometers (less than 1%).

Sharps waste, although produced in small quantities, is highly infectious. Poorly managed, they expose health-
care workers, waste handlers and the community to infections. Contaminated needles and syringes represent a
particular threat and may be scavenged from waste areas and dump sites and be reused. WHO has estimated
that, in 2000, injections with contaminated syringes caused:
 21 million hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections (32% of all new infections);
 two million hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections (40% of all new infections);
 260 000 HIV infections (5% of all new infections).

Epidemiological studies indicate that a person who experiences one needle-stick injury from a needle used on
an infected source patient has risks of 30%, 1.8%, and 0.3% respectively to become infected with HBV, HCV
and HIV. In 2002, the results of a WHO assessment conducted in 22 developing countries showed that the
proportion of health-care facilities that do not use proper waste disposal methods ranges from 18% to 64%.

2 - Health-care waste management may also represent a risk to health

Health-care waste management options may themselves lead to risks to health and no perfect readily
achievable solution to manage health-care waste exists. Health-care waste, whether generated at smaller rural
clinics or larger facilities, can be managed where adequate well-operated infrastructures exist. However, the
volumes of waste generated within large facilities and targeted public efforts (e.g., immunization campaigns) are
more challenging, particularly in developing countries where resources may be limited. In these difficult
situations for which waste disposal options are limited, small-scale incinerators have been used and are still
used as an interim solution in less developed and transitional countries. However, small-scale incinerators often
operate at temperatures below 800 degrees Celsius. This may lead to the production of dioxins, furans or other
toxic pollutants as emissions and/or in bottom/fly ash. Transport to centralised disposal facilities may also
produce hazards to health-care handlers, if not safely managed.

3 – Balancing risks to make sound policy decisions in health-care waste management

In addition to risks to health from infectious agents, long-term low-level exposure of humans to dioxins and
furans may lead to impairment of the immune system, and impaired development of the nervous system, the
endocrine system and the reproductive functions. Short-term high level exposure may result in skin lesions and
altered liver function.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies dioxins as a “known human carc inogen”.
However, most of the evidence documenting the toxicity of dioxins and furans is based upon studies of
populations that have been exposed to high concentrations of dioxins either occupationally or through industrial
accidents. There is little evidence to determine whether chronic low-level exposure to dioxins and furans causes
cancer in humans. Overall, it is not possible to estimate the global burden of diseases from exposure to dioxins
and furans because of large areas of uncertainty.

In the last 10 years, the enforcement of stricter emission standards for dioxins and furans by many countries
*
significantly reduced the release of these substances into the environment .

* 3 3
Standards: 0.1 ng TEQ/m (Toxicity Equivalence) in Europe to 0.1 ng to 5 ng TEQ/m in Japan according to
incinerator capacity.

•- Rapid Assessment Tool

- e. Monitoring Tool

Mercury in
Health Care
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

POLICY PAPER
1 - Background
Mercury is a naturally occurring heavy metal. At ambient temperature and pressure, mercury is a silvery-white
liquid that readily vaporizes and may stay in the atmosphere for up to a year. When released to the air, mercury

•WHO core principles

is transported and deposited globally. Mercury ultimately accumulates in lake bottom sediments, where it is
transformed into its more toxic organic form, methyl mercury, which accumulates in fish tissue.

Mercury is highly toxic, especially when metabolized into methyl mercury. It may be fatal if inhaled and harmful if
absorbed through the skin. Around 80% of the inhaled mercury vapour is absorbed in the blood through the
lungs. It may cause harmful effects to the nervous, digestive, respiratory, immune systems and to the kidneys,
besides causing lung damage. Adverse health effects from mercury exposure can be: tremors, impaired vision
and hearing, paralysis, insomnia, emotional instability, developmental deficits during fetal development, and
attention deficit and developmental delays during childhood. Recent studies suggest that mercury may have no
threshold below which some adverse effects do not occur.

2 - Contribution from the health-care sector and Regulation

Health-care facilities are one of the main sources of mercury release into the atmosphere because of emissions

•for achieving safe and

from the incineration of medical waste. The Environment Minister of the Canadian province of Ontario declared
on December 2002 that emissions from incinerators were the fourth-largest source of mercury.
In the United States, according to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a 1997 report, medical waste
incinerators may have been responsible for as much as 10% of all mercury air releases.

Health-care facilities are also responsible for mercury pollution taking place in water bodies from the release of
untreated wastewater. According to a 1999 report, health-care facilities may also have been responsible for as
much as 5% of all mercury releases in wastewater. Environment Canada estimates that more than one-third of
the mercury load in sewage systems is due to dental practice.

Dental amalgam is the most commonly used dental filling material. It is a mixture of mercury and a metal alloy.

sustainable
The normal composition is 45-55% mercury; approximately 30% silver and other metals such as copper, tin and
zinc. In 1991, the World Health Organization confirmed that mercury contained in dental amalgam is the
greatest source of mercury vapour in non-industrialized settings, exposing the concerned population to mercury
levels significantly exceeding those set for food and for air.
(Source:http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/cicad/en/cicad50.pdf)

According to a report submitted to the OSPAR Commission, in the United Kingdom, annually 7.41 tonnes of
mercury from dental amalgam are discharged to the sewer, atmosphere or land, with another 11.5 tonnes sent
for recycling or disposed with the clinical waste stream. Together, mercury contained in dental amalgam and in
laboratory and medical devices, account for about 53% of the total mercury emissions.

management
Waste incineration and crematoria are also listed as major sources of mercury emissions. Many countries, such
as Armenia, Cameroon, Ghana, Honduras, Pakistan, and Peru, recognize the contributions from hospital
thermometers, dental amalgams, hospital waste and/or medical waste incinerators but lack quantitative data.
Despite the lack of data, there is good reason to believe that mercury releases from the health sector in general
are substantial.

Some countries have restricted the use of mercury thermometers or have banned them without prescription. A
variety of associations have adopted resolutions encouraging physicians and hospitals to reduce and eliminate
their use of mercury containing equipment.

3 – Occupational health hazard

The most common potential mode of occupational exposure to mercury is via inhalation of metallic liquid
mercury vapours. If not cleaned up properly, spills of even small amounts of elemental mercury, such as from

•of health-care waste

breakage of thermometers, can contaminate indoor air above recommended limits and lead to serious health

•http://www.healthcarewaste.org
consequences. Since mercury vapour is odourless and colourless, people can breathe mercury vapour and not
know it. For liquid metallic mercury, inhalation is the route of exposure that poses the greatest health risk.