TITLE:
Medical Waste Management: A Case Study of the Souss-Massa-Drâa Region, Morocco
AUTHORS:
Adnane Mbarki, Belkacem Kabbachi, Abdelkarim Ezaidi, Mohamed Benssaou
KEYWORDS:
Environment; Health; Healthcare Personnel; Medical Waste; Morocco
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.4 No.9,
August
28,
2013
ABSTRACT: Medical waste
management is of major concern due to the potentially high risks to both human
health and the environment caused by inadequate waste management practices. In
Morocco, as in many developing countries, little information is available
regarding generation handling, and disposal of medical waste. The specific
objective of this study was to analyse the medical waste management practices
in the Souss-Massa-Draa region, Morocco. The study was carried out in seven of
the twelve hospitals in the region, covering 66.2% of the bed capacity. A total
of 219 healthcare personnel and their assistants were included: 35 doctors, 98
nurses, and 86 housekeepers. Site visits, interviews, and survey questionnaires
were implemented to collect information regarding different medical waste
management aspects, including medical waste generation, separation, collection,
storage, transportation, and disposal. The results indicated that the medical
waste generation rate ranged from 0.4 to 0.7 Kg/bed-day with a weighted average
of 0.53 Kg/bed-day. The
percentage of infectious and hazardous wastes in the total medical waste stream
was about 30.5%. The remaining 69.5% was general wastes similar in properties
to municipal wastes. Concerning waste separation, housekeepers demonstrate a
slightly higher knowledge about waste separation, with 49.4% of correct
answers, with nurses at 45.7%, and doctors the lowest value at 38.6%. The
results about other management aspects indicated that practices in most surveyed
hospitals did not comply with the principles stated in Moroccan
legislation. Based on the findings, some measures are suggested to improve the
present conditions and ensure that potential health and environmental risks of
medical waste are minimized.