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OJHAS: Vol. 3, Issue
2: (2004 Apr-Jun) |
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| A survey of Trace Metals Determination in
Hospital Waste Incinerator in Lucknow City, India |
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Ranjan Kumar, Analytical
Chemistry Division, Industrial Toxicology Research Center, 80 M.G.Marg, Lucknow-226001,
India
Patel DK, Analytical
Chemistry Division, Industrial Toxicology Research Center, 80 M.G.Marg, Lucknow-226001,
India
Ramesh Kumar, Analytical
Chemistry Section, Merchandise Testing Laboratory, F-5, Sector-8, NOIDA-India
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Address For Correspondence |
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Ranjan Kumar,
Analytical
Chemistry Division,
Industrial Toxicology Research Center,
80 M.G. Marg, Lucknow-226001, India
E-mail: ranjanshu@rediffmail.com
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| Kumar R,
Patel DK, Kumar R. A survey of Trace Metals Determination in Hospital Waste Incinerator in
Lucknow City, India.
Online J Health Allied Scs.2004;2:2 |
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Submitted: Dec 12,
2003; Revised: Jun 6, 2004; Re-revised: Jun 25, 2004; Re-revised:
Aug 5, 2004; Re-revised: Aug 18, 2004; Accepted: Aug 24, 2004; Published:
Aug 31,
2004 |
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| Abstract: |
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Information on the elemental content of
incinerator burning of human organ, animal and medical waste is scanty in India Nineteen
trace elements were analyzed in the incinerator ash from four major hospitals, one
municipal waste incinerator and two R & D laboratories engaged in animal experiment in
Lucknow city. Concentrations of Zinc and Lead were found to be very high in comparison to
other metals due to burning of plastic products. The source of Ca, P and K are mainly
bone, teeth and other animal organs. A wide variation in trace concentration of several
toxic elements have been seen due to variation in initial waste composition, design of the
incinerator and operating conditions.
Key Words:
Trace elements, incinerator, hospital waste
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A large amount of solid
waste is generated in the hospitals during diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The solid
waste may contain human organs, bandages, needles, syringes, test tubes, blood tubes,
tissue cell culture and other plastic materials. The incinerator is an effective and
hygienic method for disposal of hospital waste. In Western Europe more than 600
incinerator plants are in operation.(1) Bottom ash constitutes 20-30% of original waste
and is typically composed of aluminosilicate phase and contains significant amount of
heavy metals.(2) The presence of significant amount of toxic metals in the incinerator ash
may be of serious concern for its disposal. In India, Ministry of Environment has
issued guidelines for Bio medical waste management in 1998.
The present study was
conducted with an objective to determine the level of trace metals in medical waste
incinerator ash in Indian scenario. The ashes were collected from four hospitals, one
municipal waste incinerator and two R&D laboratory incinerators. Nineteen trace metals
were analyzed.
Ash was
collected from incinerators of four hospitals, one municipality and two R & D
laboratories. About 5 kg of ash was collected and dried at room temperature. All the
visible metals and glass objects were removed; ash samples were then pulverized and
passed through 5 mesh sieve. The ash was then made into fine powder using a mechanical
grinder. Whole sample was mixed properly using a blender and the blended samples were
taken for analysis.
The concentration of Cu,
Cr, Cd, Mn, Mg, Ni, Fe, Zn, Pb, Al, Ca, Co, Na, K, P metals were determined by ICP-AES
(Perkin Elmer Optima-3000) and Hg, As, Se and Sb were analyzed by Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer equipped with Hydride Vapor Generator (Analytic Jena Model No.novAA-300
with HS-5).
0.5 gm of ash from each
sample was taken for digestion in HNO3-HClO4 mixture to analyze Cu,
Cr, Cd, Mn, Mg, Ni, Fe, Zn, Pb, Al, Ca, Co, Na, K, P metals (4) and 2.0gm of ash from each
sample was taken for cold digestion for Hg, As, Se and Sb metals.(5) The limits of
detection for each element are given in Table-I; linearity coefficient R2 was
>0.998.
Table-I: Limit of
detection for different metals
Metals |
Al |
As |
Ca |
Cd |
Co |
Cr |
Cu |
Fe |
Hg |
K |
Detection Limit (in ppm) |
0.09 |
0.02 |
1 |
0.05 |
0.04 |
0.05 |
0.05 |
0.03 |
0.01 |
3.0 |
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Metals |
Mg |
Mn |
Ni |
P |
Pb |
S |
Se |
Zn |
Sb |
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Detection Limit (in ppm) |
0.05 |
0.04 |
0.10 |
0.50 |
0.02 |
0.30 |
0.5 |
0.05 |
0.02 |
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A general survey of
hospital waste properties are shown in Table-II.
Table-II: Waste
incinerator sites and types of burning materials
Waste
Incinerator Site |
Burning Material |
Hospital-1 |
Human
organ, bandage, syringe, needle, glass, tissue and plastic |
Hospital-2 |
Human
organ, bandage, syringe, needle, glass, tissue and plastic |
Hospital-3 |
Human
organ, bandage, syringe, needle, glass, tissue and plastic |
Hospital-4 |
Human
organ, bandage, syringe, needle, glass, tissue and plastic |
Municipal
Waste Incinerator |
Human
organ, bandage, syringe, needle, glass, tissue plastic, and animal carcass |
R
& D Laboratory-1 |
Animal
carcass |
R
& D Laboratory-2 |
Animal
carcass |
The result of
analysis is shown in Table-III.
Table-III: Trace Metal
Concentration in Medical Waste Incinerator
Sample |
As |
Cd |
Co |
Cr |
Cu |
Hg |
Mn |
Mo |
Ni |
Se |
V |
Zn |
Pb |
Al |
Ca |
Fe |
K |
Mg |
Na |
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Hospital-1 |
0.25 |
0.8 |
0.61 |
54.6 |
145 |
ND |
210 |
14.2 |
26 |
0.1 |
18 |
320 |
8.35 |
2.12 |
32 |
0.2 |
1.95 |
0.75 |
1.6 |
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Hospital-2 |
1.01 |
1.25 |
5.5 |
75 |
230 |
ND |
525 |
20.95 |
580 |
0.25 |
22 |
3610 |
55 |
2.1 |
25 |
1.35 |
3.8 |
1.5 |
2 |
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Hospital-3 |
185 |
9 |
4.5 |
88 |
160 |
1 |
310 |
48.4 |
110 |
ND |
32 |
5000 |
45 |
5.5 |
5.5 |
0.3 |
4.7 |
0.5 |
3.5 |
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Hospital-4 |
2.1 |
1.08 |
1.7 |
72 |
156 |
ND |
475 |
25.05 |
42 |
0.25 |
12 |
3500 |
75 |
2.35 |
23 |
1.05 |
3.6 |
1.45 |
2.42 |
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Municipal |
1.115 |
4.45 |
5.96 |
140 |
146 |
ND |
150 |
35.25 |
65 |
0.15 |
10 |
7000 |
375 |
2.1 |
9.55 |
1.25 |
3.3 |
0.6 |
3.8 |
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R & D Lab-1 |
7 |
1.13 |
9 |
35 |
870 |
0.04 |
180 |
7.5 |
70.1 |
0.15 |
12 |
650 |
9.4 |
0.5 |
20.3 |
0.45 |
2.75 |
0.65 |
1.75 |
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R & D Lab-2 |
5.05 |
11.3 |
0.71 |
35.2 |
230 |
ND |
160 |
4.5 |
15.45 |
ND |
8 |
391 |
ND |
0.67 |
32 |
1.25 |
3.1 |
0.8 |
3.25 |
Fate and
behavior of toxic waste have been examined in many studies.(6) The concentration of trace
elements vary according to the location of incinerator. Zinc concentration is higher in
hospital and municipal incinerator samples, probably due to burning of teeth, bones and
plastic material.(7) The concentration of Ca, P and K is higher in the animal experimental
lab due to burning of animal carcass and preponderance of Ca and P in bones and teeth and
K in the kidney and liver. The high concentration of Pb in hospital and municipal waste
incinerator samples is due to burning of considerable amount of plastic.
Proper disposal of
incinerator ash is therefore important to minimise environmental pollution. Land filling
of incinerator residue is the best way of disposal, as the mobility of heavy metals inside
landfill is very low. The complete wash out of metal may require thousands of years or
more. Recycling may also be a way to reduce the loss of heavy metals to the environment.
Hence the proper disposal of incinerator ash would require regular analytical monitoring
to ensure that the concentration of trace elements are within permissible limits.
The authors are thankful to
Sri J.S. Chaddha, Director, SIMA Laboratory, New Delhi for providing AAS facility and Dr.
M.V.S. Rao, MTL (India) for ICP-AES analysis.
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