Legal regulations of medical waste treatment

Abstract

Wastes and waste-related hazards have become, in recent years, a very perceptible problem from the perspective of environment protection. Dangerous wastes are a special group that present a high risk to human health and their management requires special control measures. This group includes medical wastes that are the mixture of general wastes, pharmaceutical and chemical reagents, different types of containers and outer packages, human and animal tissues and even radioactive waste. These wastes are not generated only in hospitals, but also in specialist medical centres, private medical and dentistry clinics, ambulatories, research and analytical laboratories, cosmetic centres and during drug manufacturing. Approximately 85% constitute infectious wastes that can be treated only by combustion in specialized facilities. Cinders and ashes with the volume reduced by 80-90% are the residues left after the thermal processing of wastes. The thermal method reduces not only the volume and weight of wastes, but also eliminates pathogenic microorganisms.