Record keeping in the veterinary practices 55 Table 11. Practices Reporting on staff waste management training 59 Table 12. Respondents from veterinary practices (who were always eager to help) and waste disposal companies, who all gave me their time and attention (frustration), especially Ms.
INTRODUCTION
- BACKGROUND
- MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY
- MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY AREA
- AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
- STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION
An overview of contemporary veterinary waste management and identification of areas for improvement. The main aim of this study is to describe the current management of veterinary waste in the Durban Unicity.
UTERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
DEFINING VETERINARY WASTE
There is currently no legal definition of medical or veterinary waste in South Africa (Rigby, 2002). It follows logically that waste from medical or veterinary practice will be known as human medical waste or veterinary waste for the purposes of this dissertation.
LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR VETERINARY WASTE
The Hazardous Biological Agents (HBA) regulations contained in the OHSA are relevant to the management of veterinary waste. National guidelines for the management of medical waste are in the process of development (WD Khanyile, 2003, pers.
PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental justice would apply to people involved at all levels of the waste management process (veterinarians or general staff delegated responsibility for waste management in practices) including those involved in the treatment, transport and final disposal of veterinary waste . Separation must be carried out knowing which process constitutes the final treatment of the waste and what legal requirements exist.
DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH VETERINARY AND MEDICAL WASTE
- Sewage
First, these wastes are likely to be misclassified, leading to HCWs being disposed of in the household or general waste stream due to negligence or ignorance. Poor construction or operation within the incinerator leads to the possibility of incomplete combustion of waste (see associated problems in section 2.8.4.1 of this thesis), especially in the presence of chlorine-based plastics (Tickel and Watson, 1992).
INDIVIDUALS AT RISK FROM POORLY MANAGED WASTE
Another concern is the bioaccumulation of these toxins in the food chain and ultimately in human tissue, especially where sewage sludge is used to fertilize agricultural land.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PROTECT PEOPLE AT RISK?
This would include an initial definition of the individual's role and responsibilities in relation to waste management in practice. The Integrated Waste Management White Paper for South Africa is a potentially effective piece of legislation that needs to be implemented.
THE WASTE MANAGEMENT PROCESS
This will affect the location of the generated waste, which is likely to be at the practice site. According to Pratt (1994), one of the first steps in managing medical waste is the identification and quantification of waste produced by the practice.
Marcoburn Incinerator for disposal of Cadavers
Removal of Ash from an Incinerator
CONCLUSION
There is also no reason to exclude veterinary waste from the definition of medical waste in the set of minimum requirements. It is against this model that veterinary waste management in Durban will be interrogated in Chapters 4 and 5.
METHODOLOGY 3.1 INTRODUCTION
- DETERMINING THE TOTAL POPULATION
- CHOOSING THE SAMPLE
- WASTE MANAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRES
- PILOT STUDY CONDUCTED
- DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Based on whether the above practices agreed to participate or not, a list of practices was examined and a selection made to bring the sample to approximately 50% of the total population of veterinary practices. WClSte disposal companies were selected based on responses to questions 62.0 of the veterinary practice questionnaires (Appendix 4). It was also assumed that the size of the practice would influence the amount of waste produced and how waste was managed in each practice.
Each of the 61 veterinary practices was thus categorized as large, mixed or small animal practices. There was then a need to determine which practices were placed in each of the area classifications. It was then a simple task to determine the approximate coordinates (latitude and longitude) of each of the practices.
30 It was assumed that all veterinary practices operated seven days a week in order to achieve the amount of seasonal waste generated or injections given.
RESULTS 4.1 INTRODUCTION
VETERINARY PRACTICES SAMPLED
These groups can be reclassified into categories of waste similar to those described by Nowlan (1997). CATEGORIES OF WASTE GENERATED AT PRACTICE LEVEL MASS (kg) MASS% OF TOTAL WASTE Anatomical waste (Including cadavers and biological waste. It accounts for 65.4'Yo of the entire waste stream and consists mainly of cadavers.
Infectious waste on its own and not mixed with any other waste represents 0.2'Yo of the total waste stream. Misgrouped waste (where household waste is mixed or grouped together with hazardous waste) formed 12.0'Yo (650.00 kg) of the total waste stream for all practices for the week before the questionnaire was completed (Table 9). The amount of glass and feces from patients admitted to the hospital at large animal practices was also of concern.
This is indicated in Appendix 6 and Table 8 as zero because the respondents were unable to estimate the amount of waste generated per week.
Storage of Manure before Composting
COMPANIES REMOVING WASTE FROM VETERINARY PRACTICES
MANAGEMENT? aware and how to use awareness) . risks associated with the incinerator). and security. with HIV/AIDS waste management, . needles). The Center relies on the cooperation of veterinary practices to ensure that these are not involved in wClSte. The company is also one of the largest medical waste disposal companies in the province, handling up to 9010 wastes from provincial hospitals and DoH clinics.
Veterinary waste constitutes a very small part of the total medical waste stream that the company handles on a monthly basis (0.5-110). This includes the use of the right containers or containers for the task at hand (Table 15). In terms of legislation, the company is aware of its responsibility as a disposal facility for medical waste (Table 13).
Regarding NEMA and ECA, the company indicated that it is aware of its responsibility as a waste disposal company (Table 13).
CONCLUSION
Veterinary Z hospitals produce more waste and spend more money on C) waste disposal compared to veterinary hospitals. Some waste management companies do not vaccinate their staff. There is a need for a list that processes veterinary waste against possible diseases. Z Some waste management companies open plastic bags from veterinary practice protocols or guidelines and inspect the contents for handling infectious agents.
E0wI- Ashes from biomedical and veterinary waste incinerators are disposed of at a municipal landfill 0Cl! . system. Some veterinary waste disposal companies do not treat what is hazardous waste as equally dangerous as medical waste. veterinarian status. Waste disposal companies do not use a standardized documentation system to help track waste, although it is necessary for waste. o \ !. at all stages, from the point of creation to final disposal. waste disposal companies v.
WWCl!~ Relevant authorities do not monitor the activities of Who is responsible for some waste disposal companies. monitoring of the activities .. w The management at some waste disposal companies is What are generators not aware of their responsibilities in terms of the responsibilities of waste ... 1- Environmental Protection Act and National disposal companies? . coli).
DISCUSSION 5.1 INTRODUCTION
- VETERINARY PRACTICES SAMPLED
- VETERINARY PATHOLOGY LABORATORY DISPOSING OF WASTE
- VETERINARY WASTE DISPOSAL COMPANIES
- CONCLUSION
Those involved in the waste management process should be made aware of the hazards, the reasons for the specific containers and the color coding applied to the different waste containers. The laboratory waste shown in Table 17, however, is not a reliable reflection of the produced waste. Just under half (46.9'vv) of the veterinary practices in this study indicated that there were no control measures taken prior to the removal of waste from the practices.
In addition, only 43.8% of the veterinary practices kept records of the waste generated in the practice (Table 10). According to NEMA, this responsibility should fall on the shoulders of the producer of the waste (the diagnostic laboratory). In this situation, the responsibility for the sharps remains that of the veterinary practice that generated it.
Such a system should indicate the source of the waste, any intermediate persons who handle it, and the final destination and fate of the waste.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND GUIDELINES
- INTRODUCTION
- RESPONSIBILITY FOR WASTE
- SEPARATION OF WASTE AT SOURCE
- GUIDELINES FOR DISPOSAL OF VETERINARY WASTE
- OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
It is therefore preferable that such waste is collected by a waste disposal company that operates a large incinerator. Storage conditions for infectious waste should be similar to those for anatomical waste (either freezing or refrigeration for a maximum of one week). Containers for sharps must be rigid and puncture resistant to prevent them from entering the container and causing injury.
Where possible, the quantities of chemical and pharmaceutical waste should first be reduced through 'green purchasing' (Kaiser et al., 2001). The guidelines indicate that they should be stored in black or dark green color-coded containers. All waste handlers should be ensured to provide their details as well as where or to whom the waste was handed over.
All those involved in the waste management process must be registered with the competent authorities.
CONCLUSION
This study has shown that veterinary waste management is currently unregulated and depends on the good sense of producers. Given the diverse nature of waste generated, deposited and accumulated, including the conditions under which waste can be generated, a set of guidelines for veterinary waste management have been proposed (Chapter 6). It is also recommended that these guidelines be communicated to veterinarians through SAVC or local SAVA branches.
Implementation of the National Waste Management Strategy: New Developments in Healthcare Waste Management in South Africa. Unpublished paper, submitted as part of LLM course requirements, School of Law, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa. The need for and location of hazardous waste sites for KwaZulu-Natal Final Report, TRPC, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.13p.
Prvi semester 2003, ArcView 3.2 Course Notes, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Natal, Durban, Južna Afrika.
SUMMARY OF HPCSA (2000) GUIDEUNES FOR MEDICAL WASTE
VETERINARY PRACTICES IN DURBAN
INDICATORS USED TO DETERMINE POVERTY LEVELS
Calculated as the number of households with access to electricity divided by the total number of households in the area. Share of households with flush toilets, expressed as a share of the total number of households. Proportion of households that have access to water supply as a share of the total number of households in each area.
To create this index, Singh first expressed all values in the range as a percentage of the highest value. The scores for each of the indicators were then combined and then divided by the number of indicators (seven), weighting each variable equally in the 0-1 standardized index (V Singh, 2002, pers. comm.).
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR VETERINARY PRACTICES
Enter the numbers in the boxes to the right to describe what the waste in each category is.
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR WASTE DISPOSAL COMPANIES-Continued
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR WASTE DISPOSAL COMPANIES
Winter: JJA Spring: SON Summer: DJF Autumn: MAM Winter: JJA Spring: SON Summer: DJF CIRCLE one CIRCLE one. CIRCLE one YES/NO Quantity (quantity per carcass/per kg - indicate units) Indicate the number of carcasses accepted.
WASTE STREAMS LEAVING VETERINARY PRACTICES
SELECTED VARIABLES BASED ON PRACTICE SIZE
SELECTED VARIABLES BASED ON PATIENTS SEEN
ZOONOSES ENCOUNTERED IN VETERINARY PRACTICE. 52
