Healthcare Waste Report - Environment Health
Healthcare Waste Report - Environment Health
Healthcare Waste Report - Environment Health
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Treatment and<br />
Disposal<br />
Hospitals and clinics are<br />
responsible for the<br />
disposal of the waste<br />
they generate.<br />
<strong><strong>Health</strong>care</strong> facilities<br />
generally entrust waste<br />
treatment to waste<br />
management companies authorized by the<br />
prefecture government. Around 98% of<br />
hospitals outsource the disposal of their<br />
healthcare wastes to the treatment company,<br />
while less than 0.8% of them are dispose by<br />
themselves.<br />
Treatment methods specified by the <strong>Waste</strong><br />
Management Law are generally incineration,<br />
melting in a furnace, sterilization in autoclave<br />
or thermal sterilizer, disinfection with heat or<br />
other specified methods.<br />
Incineration is the most common treatment<br />
method used in Japan. As of March 2006,<br />
there were 296 infectious waste treatment<br />
companies in Japan of which 90% were<br />
incineration companies, followed by 5% of<br />
melting disposal companies.<br />
Infectious waste stored in the healthcare<br />
facility is collected by the waste management<br />
company and transported to an incinerator<br />
where the wastes are burnt at more than<br />
800°C for disinfection and disposed. Figure<br />
above shows transportation of healthcare<br />
waste.<br />
CHAPTER 3_COUNTRY ANALYSIS<br />
When healthcare facilities entrust their waste<br />
treatment to waste management companies,<br />
they are to conclude the consignment contract<br />
in advance and satisfy the following<br />
requirements:<br />
Licensed Companies<br />
<strong><strong>Health</strong>care</strong> facilities are to consign waste<br />
treatment only to licensed companies.<br />
Documentation<br />
Both healthcare facilities and waste<br />
management companies are to conclude<br />
contracts in written format (paper). The<br />
contract and attachments are to be stored<br />
for five years from the day of completion.<br />
Manifest<br />
When a medical facility entrusts its<br />
infectious waste management to licensed<br />
waste management contractors, they are to<br />
issue an industrial management slip<br />
(manifest). Manifest is a document which<br />
specifies waste’s consignee, quantity and<br />
type, forwarding with the waste from<br />
generators to final disposers. By receiving a<br />
copy of manifest which reports the<br />
completion of waste treatment from waste<br />
contractors, the medical facility can<br />
monitor status of the waste and confirm<br />
that the entrusted agents treat its waste<br />
properly. If a medical facility does not get<br />
the manifest back, they are to report to the<br />
local governments which monitor and<br />
instruct waste management contractors.<br />
Transportation of healthcare waste<br />
40<br />
JAPAN
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