Quantitative assessment of medical waste generation in the capital city of Bangladesh.
There is a concern that mismanagement of medical waste in developing countries may be a significant risk factor for disease transmission. Quantitative estimation of medical waste generation is needed to estimate the potential risk and as a basis for any waste management plan. Dhaka City, the capital of Bangladesh, is an example of a major city in a developing country where there has been no rigorous estimation of medical waste generation based upon a thorough scientific study. These estimates were obtained by stringent weighing of waste in a carefully chosen, representative, sample of HCEs, including non-residential diagnostic centres. This study used a statistically designed sampling of waste generation in a broad range of Health Care Establishments (HCEs) to indicate that the amount of waste produced in Dhaka can be estimated to be 37+/-5 ton per day. The proportion of this waste that would be classified as hazardous waste by World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines was found to be approximately 21%. The amount of waste, and the proportion of hazardous waste, was found to vary significantly with the size and type of HCE.
Patwary
Masum A
MA
School of Science and Technology, University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, UK. M.patwary@tees.ac.uk
O'Hare
William Thomas
WT
Street
Graham
G
Maudood Elahi
K
K
Hossain
Syed Shahadat
SS
Sarker
Mosharraf H
MH
D001459:Bangladesh; D006256:Hazardous Waste / Q000145:classification; D006268:Health Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006797:Housekeeping, Hospital; D008506:Medical Waste / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal; D018505:Waste Management
D006256:Hazardous Waste; D008506:Medical Waste; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal