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Find out what hospital wastewater is?

Hospital wastewater is classified as dangerous wastewater, with the following characteristics:

Arising from medical activities, diagnosis, treatment and patient care

Including wastewater from hospital rooms, operating rooms, testing rooms, experiments…

Completely different from normal domestic wastewater, it requires strict treatment before being discharged into the environment.

What makes hospital wastewater different is its composition:

Contains many types of hazardous and highly toxic waste

Presence of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and antibiotics used in treatment

Contains dangerous pathogens, viruses, bacteria, and parasites

There exists a high risk of infection to the environment and human health

Because of this complexity and potential dangers, hospital wastewater is becoming one of the top concerns today.

What components does hospital wastewater contain?

Hospital wastewater includes many different components, specifically as follows:

1. Medical waste

A large part of hospital wastewater is hazardous medical waste:

Syringes, needles, drains, gauze, and bandages stained with blood and fluid

Human body parts, organs, and tissue specimens arising from surgery

Chemicals, solvents, disinfectants used in tests and experiments

Contaminated medical materials, radioactive substances…

If these things are not classified and handled carefully, they will be a source of infection, spread of pathogens and cause serious environmental pollution.

2. Medicine

Medicines, especially antibiotics, are a concern in hospital wastewater. Example: Antibiotics

Most patients treated in the hospital receive antibiotics.

However, their bodies only absorb a part, the rest is excreted through urine and feces.

The concentration of antibiotics in hospital wastewater is very high compared to other waste sources.

Antibiotics persist and accumulate for a long time in the environment, causing drug resistance.

The presence of antibiotics in wastewater seriously threatens the ability to treat infectious diseases in the future.

3. Harmful gas

Hospital wastewater also contains some toxic gases such as:

Anesthetic gases used in surgery and anesthesia (eg halothane, isoflurane…).

Extremely toxic gas produced from cancer radiation treatment with cobalt-60.

Formaldehyde gas is used to embalm corpses and preserve medical tissue.

If these gases are released, they will cause air pollution and negatively affect health.

4. Biological materials

A large part of hospital wastewater is biological materials:

Cells, tissues, body fluids of the patient (blood, sputum, pus, urine…).

Disease-causing microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites.

Necrotic tissue and tumors arising from surgery or biopsy.

These biological components are both a source of disease and can carry pathogens that spread to the environment if not thoroughly treated.

Medical waste

Harmful effects of hospital wastewater on life

With the dangerous ingredients mentioned above, how will hospital wastewater impact the environment and human health?

1. Causes environmental pollution

Hospital wastewater, if not treated properly, will be a huge source of environmental pollution:

Spills into surface water sources such as rivers, streams, ponds… destroying aquatic ecosystems.

Penetrating into the ground causes soil and groundwater pollution.

Disperses foul odors, attracts flies, mosquitoes, and harmful organisms.

Spreads pathogens to pets, animals and plants in the environment.

Pollution caused by hospital wastewater is increasing and becoming more serious, deteriorating the quality of the living environment.

2. Antibiotic resistance

Large amounts of antibiotics in hospital wastewater will cause drug-resistant bacteria to thrive.

When entering the body through water or food, they cause infections that are difficult to treat.

The phenomenon of drug resistance seriously threatens the ability to treat infectious diseases in the future.

3. Spread of pathogens

Hospital wastewater is full of dangerous disease-causing microorganisms.

If not thoroughly treated, they will spread into the environment and cause disease in the community.

Common diseases such as diarrhea, hepatitis, typhoid, dengue fever…

Those at highest risk are patients, medical staff and people living around the hospital.

The risk from hospital wastewater does not only stop within the hospital but can also spread over a large area.

Hospital wastewater is very dangerous and causes environmental pollution

Current status of hospital wastewater in Vietnam

So how is the actual management and treatment of hospital wastewater in our country going? And what potential risks?

1. Limited processing capacity

Reality shows that hospital wastewater treatment in Vietnam still has many limitations:

Many hospitals do not have their own wastewater treatment systems or their capacity is too small.

Most of them are only at the preliminary or secondary treatment level and do not meet the standards.

The situation of direct discharge of hospital wastewater into the environment still occurs.

The collection and operation system is ineffective and lacks monitoring and warning equipment.

These shortcomings make hospital wastewater a potentially dangerous source of pollution.

2. Increased risk of pollution

In the context of increasing scale and medical examination and treatment activities, the risk of pollution from hospital wastewater is a hot issue:

The amount of hospital wastewater is generated at a rapid rate.

Contains many hazardous ingredients and is more difficult to handle.

If not controlled and treated promptly, it will cause widespread pollution.

The threat to public health and the environment is getting worse.

Requires appropriate attention and investment in treatment from authorities and hospitals.

Therefore, the problem of hospital wastewater needs to be taken seriously and have a fundamental, long-term solution soon.

The current situation of hospital wastewater treatment in our country is still very limited

Hospital wastewater treatment process

To minimize negative effects and control risks from hospital wastewater, wastewater treatment needs to be carried out most strictly and thoroughly. The hospital wastewater treatment process often includes many stages combining many different methods:

1. Preliminary treatment

Filter, separate and remove solid waste, hazardous medical waste, and toxic chemicals

Disinfect pathogens, detoxify pharmaceuticals with chemicals

Adjust pH, remove color and odor of wastewater

2. Secondary treatment

Biological treatment with microorganisms to decompose organic substances in wastewater

Popular methods: Activated sludge, oxidation ditch, biological filter, biological lake,…

3. Third stage processing

Advanced treatment to remove nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus), heavy metals, pathogenic microorganisms

Some advanced technologies: RO membrane filtration, activated carbon, ion exchange, ozone treatment, UV…

The effectiveness of the hospital wastewater treatment process depends greatly on the appropriate combination of the above methods.

Solutions to reduce hospital waste

Along with treatment, hospitals also need to proactively implement measures to minimize wastewater from the beginning.

1. Change operating procedures

To minimize the generation of hazardous waste, hospitals should review and improve operating procedures in an environmentally friendly way:

Minimize the use of pharmaceuticals, chemicals and consumables that cause pollution.

Separately classify and collect hazardous medical waste right at the source.

Change the water usage habits of medical staff and patients to save water.

Applying advanced and modern technology in diagnosis and treatment.

These simple but practical solutions will contribute to significantly reducing the load and toxicity of hospital wastewater.

2. Use environmentally friendly materials

In addition, medical facilities should also prioritize the use of environmentally friendly materials and tools such as:

Bags and containers made of paper and cardboard instead of disposable plastic.

Gloves, masks, syringes made from biodegradable materials.

Medical instruments made of glass and porcelain instead of hard-to-decompose plastic.

Cleaning chemicals are less toxic and biodegradable.

The transition to green materials not only reduces the burden of wastewater treatment but also demonstrates the hospital’s environmental responsibility.

Use environmentally friendly materials to reduce pollution

Who is responsible for hospital wastewater treatment?

The hospital is the unit directly responsible for collecting, transporting and treating wastewater.

It is necessary to have a standard wastewater treatment system that is operated regularly.

Must comply with legal regulations on medical waste management.

It is necessary to coordinate with environmental agencies for periodic monitoring and reporting.

It is possible to contract with a functional unit to treat wastewater.

First of all, hospitals need to be clearly aware of their responsibilities and proactively build standard wastewater treatment systems. In addition to end-of-pipe treatment, it is necessary to synchronously deploy radical mitigation solutions such as improving processes and using green technology. On the management side, there needs to be strict regulations and regular monitoring to force hospitals to strictly comply.

The best hospital wastewater treatment chemicals today

Currently, chlorine and PAC chemicals are commonly used products to treat wastewater and disinfect equipment at hospitals. It provides the ability to disinfect, kill viruses, parasites and harmful agents in water. Besides, these chemicals also help deposit organic compounds and remove them from water easily.

PAC East Asia

Dong A Chemical is currently producing and distributing hospital wastewater treatment chemicals in large quantities. We have been supplying to hospitals nationwide, with the desire to thoroughly treat wastewater sources and protect the environment in the best way. Chlorine is the product most purchased by hospitals today, 45kg/barrel, white powder form. If you want to buy the product, please contact Dong A immediately via HOTLINE 0822 525 525.

Hopefully this article has helped readers understand hospital wastewater treatment in the most detailed way. If you have any related questions that need further advice, please leave them in the comments below this article.