POST 00804E : UNIVERSAL SAFETY BOX

POST 00804E : UNIVERSAL SAFETY BOX Follow-up on Post 00794E 23 June 2005 _____________________________________ Ville Lehto (mailto:[email protected]) from Finland replies to Franck Bouvet's suggestion _____________________________________ Dear all, I would like to comment Mr. Franck Bouvet's interesting idea of universal safety box. The issue of recycling - disposal from incinerator manufacturer's point of view: In general the incineration is not only about sterilizing the waste, but it is a tool for final disposal. It is reasonable to sterilize and take the material back into the industrial system in the places where recycling is economically and ecologically viable. On the other hand, if the amounts of waste are small, the distances are long or it is hard to find a buyer for the recycled material, it is better to choose on-site disposal. Waste disposal is putting material back in the ecosystem. Here we should ensure that the solid liquid and gaseous outcomes are in the form that the system can easily handle. Again, burial is a good option for waste that decomposes relatively quickly in natural microbiological processes of the soil, if the dumpsite is safe and controlled. However, it is not environmentally sound to bury plastics. The point is that there are different contexts and different subsets of infectious waste, and their optimal management calls for different approaches. Standardized safety boxes: As I understood right Franck's vision of the universal safety box, they would be used only for the sharp metal parts. However there are also other items that have been in touch with blood or other body fluids. For us the plastics are not a problem, and it is possible to incinerate even PVC without producing furans/dioxins if you just avoid the conditions where they are formed. As mentioned, infectious waste is heterogenous, and optimal management calls for different disposal methods for different subsets. Furthermore, the optimal method for a certain subset is also highly dependent on the context. When it comes to the safety boxes it is hard to imagine that one type of the box could serve all the needs. Yet, I think Franck's idea of standardization is great. There is just a need to clarify the needs for different boxes in a way that takes into account the special requirements of the waste subset as well as the mode of disposal so that also the box is easy to recycle/dispose of (ideally by the same method as the waste inside). After establishing detailed specifications, one could expect the industry to go for the implementation just as Franck explained. I'm looking forward to having your comments! Should you have any questions please feel free to contact me! With kind regards, Ville Lehto Marketing Manager Mediburner Ltd FINLAND ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Visit the TECHNET21 Website at http://www.technet21.org You will find instructions to subscribe, a direct access to archives, links to reference documents and other features. ______________________________________________________________________________ To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a message to : mailto:[email protected] Leave the subject area BLANK In the message body, write unsubscribe TECHNET21E ______________________________________________________________________________ The World Health Organization and UNICEF support TechNet21. The TechNet21 e-Forum is a communication/information tool for generation of ideas on how to improve immunization services. It is moderated by Claude Letarte and is hosted in cooperation with the Centre de coopération internationale en santé et développement, Québec, Canada (http://www.ccisd.org) ______________________________________________________________________________