Viji Vijayan Assistant Dean Safety, Health and Emergency Management. President Biorisk Association of Singapore

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1 Viji Vijayan Assistant Dean Safety, Health and Emergency Management President Biorisk Association of Singapore

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3 Singapore - small island state in South East Asia Total area sq km Population 5.54 mill Work force 3.5 mill Unemployment 2% Per capita GDP SGD 71,000

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5 Established in 2005, first US-style graduate-entry medical school Annual enrolment of over ~ 60 medical students Strong PhD program Over S$280 million in grants 1,400 peer-reviewed journal articles Five wet bench lab based programs Co-located Singapore s largest healthcare group augments translational research

6 Analysis of New Risks Posed by Biological Waste and Mitigation Methods

7 Outline: Biological waste definition Cradle to grave concept Challenges Potential solutions

8 Definition: Any waste that is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals; in biological research; or in the production or testing of biologicals There is no globally agreed upon definition of medical waste, healthcare or healthcare-related facility.

9 Life cycle of waste material Research laboratory

10 Life cycle of waste material Final disposal Purchase, storage, use Transporting waste Waste generation Storing waste

11 Before you open Have a plan

12 Color coding for waste

13 Clearing of the waste with transport

14 Clearing of the waste with transport

15 Special waste disposal for hazmat

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17 Risk at every stage of the life cycle of waste Final disposal Purchase, storage, use Transporting waste Waste generation Storing waste

18 In our School: Biological o liquid waste or solid waste o infective and non infective Radioactive disposed as solid Chemical mostly liquid Toxic liquid and solid General solid

19 Cost for 50 labs Solid biological waste 240 L bins annually 2670 bins costing SDG 80,100 Per L SGD General Waste 660L bins 3650 bins annual SGD 68,500 Per L SGD = times more expensive

20 Medical/Biological waste most expensive What constitutes medical waste Primary objective is to minimize the risk of infection As much as 50% of waste is general waste This results in unnecessarily high disposal costs Improved segregation - substantial savings

21 Waste Hierarchy

22 There are four tiers to waste management: 1. at source reduction 2. reuse or redistribution 3. treatment, reclamation, and recycling of materials within the waste 4. disposal through incineration, treatment, or land burial

23 First tier at source reduction Segregation at source should have a good strategy training clear instructions Decontaminating at source to dispose as general waste Risk assessment of the waste

24 Clearing of the waste with transport Education and Communication

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30 Second tier is to reuse unwanted material, redistribute surplus chemicals, and reduce hazards. purchasing only what is needed sharing material keeping inventories to prevent the purchase of duplicates sewer disposal of certain aqueous liquids, based on regulations

31 Third tier recycling material that can be recovered safely waste-to-energy Examples: silver from film processing solutions

32 The fourth tier Incineration and landfill incineration reduces the volume but can produce toxic gases Non incineration methods like autoclaving do not reduce the volume

33 The incineration of solid waste reduces its volume by about 90%. Singapore has four waste-to-energy plants this has helped land-scarce Singapore to reduce her need for future landfills, hence creating a sustainable waste management framework

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36 Waste-to-energy The heat from the combustion process is used to generate superheated steam in boilers. The steam is in turn used to drive turbo generators to produce electricity Ferrous scrap metal contained in the ash is recovered In Singapore the ash is used for laying roads

37 New types of waste nanomaterial synthetic material biological mixed with the above

38 Nanomaterials particles of approximately nm range Nanoparticle are produced in countless process like erosion, combustion, volcanic eruptions in addition they are used in cosemetics, paints, fabric. Some of the applications of nanoparticles used for biology they form a part of biological waste

39 Nanowaste has not yet triggered legislative amendments Most places dispose them as chemical waste Regulatory re-classification may influence management practices

40 Concern over nano-objects exhibiting increased toxicological properties Incineration can release toxic material

41 Dealing with unknown materials simple steps for newer chemicals and material simple in-laboratory test procedures by trained persons some basic information and hazard classification err on the side of some caution when assessing the risk precise molecular structure not necessary for waste management

42 My message today Waste Management starts when you order any material Risk Assessment should include waste management Segregation and decontamination at source Sharing to reduce duplication Waste-to-energy

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