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KMID : 1138720160420030013
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Korean Public Health Research
2016 Volume.42 No. 3 p.13 ~ p.22
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A Survey on the Current State of Medical Waste treatment and the Opinion of Medical waste managers about On-site Treatment of the General Hospitals in Korea
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Oh Se-Eun
Park Seok-Hwan
Ahn Ho-Gi
Ji Kyung-Hee
Kim Pan-Gyi
Hong Young-Seoub
Lee Eun-Il
Lee Kyoung-Mu
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Abstract
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Objective: Collecting actual data on the current status of medical waste management in general hospital is essential for establishing effective policies for medical waste management nationwide in Korea.
Methods: Total 126 out of 326 general hospitals in Korea participated in the on-line survey. The survey questionnaire comprised of 27 questions on the current status of medical waste management (segregation between medical waste and municipal solid waste, and cost of medical waste disposal) and opinion about on-site treatment.
Results: Over 60% of general hospitals generated at least 5 tons per month and most common type of medical wastes were general medical waste. Even though separate containers are used for collecting medical waste and other municipal solid waste, the latter tend to be thrown into the container of medical waste (55%) and vice versa (23%). Disposal cost of medical wastes varies very much significantly by region in Korea or by the entrusted company for medical waste disposal. Almost all managers for medical waste in general hospital (93%) thought that incineration is the safest option for medical waste disposal.
Conclusion: The results of our study suggested that the amount of medical waste could be reduced by accomplishing strict segregation between medical waste and municipal solid waste. Certain guideline is necessary for disposal cost of medical waste by the government. In addition, a number of technologies developed for on-site treatment should be evaluated in terms of risk for potential infection in advance to expand on-site treatment.
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KEYWORD
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Medical waste, Medical waste management, Segregation, Cost of disposal, Incineration, On-site treatment
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