title: Characterization of bottom ash from two hospital waste incinerators in Rabat, Morocco.
abstract: The uncontrolled disposal of bottom ash generated by the incineration units of hazardous and infected wastes in developed countries are the main cause of significant damage, such as contamination of the soil, as well as surface and underground waters, which may put both the environment and public health at risk. In Morocco, little information is available on the chemical properties of the resulting ashes. In this study, 16 hospital waste ash samples were collected from the incinerators of the two main hospitals in Rabat: Ibn Sina and Cheikh Zayd. A series of tests was conducted, including particle size distribution, mineralogical and chemical composition, and heavy metal leaching behaviour. The results showed that the samples were composed mainly of P2O5 (18%), SiO2 (17%), Na2O (16%), CaO (14%) and SO3 (10%). Moreover, chemical analysis clearly demonstrated that medical waste (MW) contains large amounts of waste generated by domestic activities in the hospital, with a lack of sorting system in the monitoring of MW. Furthermore, the ashes contained high concentrations of heavy metals such as zinc, lead, chromium and nickel with a vast range of 0.5-25071 mg/kg. Leaching tests showed that the extracted amounts of all the heavy metals were lower, with concentrations < 2.85 mg/kg. Comparison of the corresponding heavy metal concentrations with the limit values set by the Council Decision 2003/33/EC allowed us to conclude that bottom ashes meet the waste acceptance criteria regarding these heavy metals.
authors.affiliation: 1Unité de Biologie et Recherche Médicale, Cnesten, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: Meriem E L
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bakkali
authors.forename: Meriem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bahri
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gmouh
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jaddi
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bakkali
authors.forename: Amin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laglaoui
authors.forename: Mohammed E L
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Mzibri
mesh_terms: D060729:Coal Ash / Q000737:chemistry*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control; D006761:Hospitals; D017745:Incineration / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008506:Medical Waste; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D009018:Morocco; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D060729:Coal Ash; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008506:Medical Waste; D017744:Medical Waste Disposal; D019216:Metals, Heavy
keywords: Hospital waste; bottom ashes; heavy metals; incineration; waste management