TITLE:
Contaminant Properties of Hospital Clinical Laboratory Wastewater: A Physiochemical and Microbiological Assessment
AUTHORS:
Beril Salman Akin
KEYWORDS:
Hospital Wastewater, Heavy Metal, Water Quality, Bacterial Isolation
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.7 No.5,
April
7,
2016
ABSTRACT: Hospital
laboratory wastewater has been considered to significantly change the degree of
contamination of especially the hospital wastewater. The present study
investigated the hospital clinical laboratory wastewater and the pollution
loads were assessed for pathogens, heavy metals, and organic materials.
Composite samples were collected from clinical laboratory wastewater of a
350-bed hospital for a six-month period. Analyses for pH, TSS (Total Suspended Solid),
BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), PO4-P, and Cl as
well as heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni, Al, and Mn) were made in
order to physiochemical properties of the samples. Bacterial isolation (Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Acinetobaumanii,
CNS—Coagulase- Negative Staphylococcus) and antigen-antibody analyses were conducted
in order to find the microbiological pollution load of the wastewater. As a
result of the study it was found that the hospital clinical laboratory
wastewater was alkaline and COD/BOD ratio reached to a range of 10 - 12 in the
wastewater. It was concluded that although the heavy metal concentrations were
within the sewage discharge limits the said levels could pose health risk. It
was also found that the wastewater entailed health risk due to pathogens.