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How Does Medical Waste Affect Our Environment in General?

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It is ironical how the efforts of medical facilities to treat the ailing can also generate waste that make the environment “sick”.  Medical wastes such as sharps, blood, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical tools, body parts, and radioactive waste can have direct or indirect effects on our environment.

Hence, effective medical waste management is critical to prevent or reduce the potential effects of medical waste to the public and the environment.However, not all medical facilities follow the international standards when it comes to handling of medical waste. This might be due to ignorance, lack of finance or inadequate information.

General Environmental Effects of Medical Waste

Healthcare facilities in developing and unregulated areas mix their medical waste municipal waste and dump them in landfills without any segregation. Such careless and unregulated disposal pollutes the environment in various ways including contaminating the soil and underground water, spreading infections to animals, birds, insects, and people.
Eventually, this can affect the balance of the ecosystem. Runoffs can also carry toxins and bacterial to water sources such as rivers and lakes reducing the quality of water.

Where Does Waste Go?


Some health facilities choose to incinerate their waste. If incineration is not done properly, research shows that burning medical waste leads to air pollution. Incineration releases dioxins, metals, mercury, and other air pollutants.
A report by the US Environment Protection Agency shows that incineration of medical waste is the third-largest emitter of dioxin into the atmosphere. Incineration reduces the quality of the air we breathe and can lead to respiratory diseases.

Conclusion

Medical waste that is poorly managed poses environmental hazards and threatens public health. Stakeholders must tighten the regulations and implementation of medical waste management for a healthier world.