This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Bencko, V. Articles by Vins, O. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Hospital Waste Treatment and Disposal in the General University Hospital - Current Situation and Future Challenges

Charles University of Prague, 1st Faculty of Medicine and the General University Hospital, Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology

J. Kapek

Charles University of Prague, 1st Faculty of Medicine and the General University Hospital, Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology

O. Vin

Operational Division of GUH, Prague, Czech Republic

The General Hospital of Prague, together with a maternity home, foundling hospital and hospice was established in 1790 under the so called "directive rules" issued by Josef II in 1781. At the time of its opening there were 300 beds and now the number varies from 1800 to 2000 beds.

The present General University Hospital (GUH) is inevitably a producer of waste and must organise the management of this in all of its premises and departments in an acceptable non-noxious manner. From an ecological point of view it is important to separate the various kinds of waste produced which must then be kept in safe containers at selected places, protected against degradation, obstruction and leakage. Since, at the present time the GUH possesses neither an incinerator nor disposal site facilities. The different hospital waste fractions are taken by specialised companies responsible for its treatment and final disposal.

Proper separation of waste has an important influence on the hospital budget. While the price of the mixed communal waste disposal is now approximately 2200 CZK (75 Euro) per tonne the specific sanitary hospital waste treatment costs 7800 CZK (260 Euro) per tonne. For this reason the GUH has its own internal directive with rules for handling all kinds of waste. According to this directive one person is nominated as responsible for waste treatment to manage the hospital waste at each work place, clinic and institute. The management of all of the hospital waste is the responsibility of the operational division of the hospital. The directive lists basic rules for safety, personal protection and emergency measures in case of accidents. This directive is part of the hospital operating instructions, based on the requirements of law No. 258/2000 on the Protection of Public Health, Waste Management Act No 185/2001 and the Methodological Instruction of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic issued in 2001. The expected development of present practices and future challenges in this field are discussed.

Key Words: Hospital waste treatment cost • Waste separation • Waste burning • Steam and microwave disinfection

Indoor and Built Environment, Vol. 12, No. 1-2, 99-104 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1420326X03012001016


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?