Disinfection technology and strategies for COVID-19 hospital and bio-medical waste management

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Dec 20:749:141652. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141652. Epub 2020 Aug 12.

Abstract

The isolation wards, institutional quarantine centers, and home quarantine are generating a huge amount of bio-medical waste (BMW) worldwide since the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). The personal protective equipment, testing kits, surgical facemasks, and nitrile gloves are the major contributors to waste volume. Discharge of a new category of BMW (COVID-waste) is of great global concern to public health and environmental sustainability if handled inappropriately. It may cause exponential spreading of this fatal disease as waste acts as a vector for SARS-CoV-2, which survives up to 7 days on COVID-waste (like facemasks). Proper disposal of COVID-waste is therefore immediately requires to lower the threat of pandemic spread and for sustainable management of the environmental hazards. Henceforth, in the present article, disinfection technologies for handling COVID-waste from its separate collection to various physical and chemical treatment steps have been reviewed. Furthermore, policy briefs on the global initiatives for COVID-waste management including the applications of different disinfection techniques have also been discussed with some potential examples effectively applied to reduce both health and environmental risks. This article can be of great significance to the strategy development for preventing/controlling the pandemic of similar episodes in the future.

Keywords: Common bio-medical waste treatment facility; Disinfection technology; Novel coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; Waste management.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19*
  • Disinfection
  • Hospitals
  • Humans
  • Medical Waste*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Technology
  • Waste Management*

Substances

  • Medical Waste