Decontamination and Treatment of Medical Waste

Each year in the United States over 600,000 tons of regulated biomedical waste are generated by hospitals, laboratories and clinics. Disposing of these wastes safely, economically and within environmental guidelines is a growing problem. The accepted methods of waste treatment, such as incineration, autoclaving and shipment off-site, are the targets of increasing public concern and regulatory control. The proposed work will evaluate the feasibility of a gaseous ozone process for converting infectious waste into more environmentally acceptable waste materials. Ozone is attractive as a gaseous sterilant because it ie effective at low temperatures and it breaks down readily into water and oxygen so there is no undesirable liquid or gaseous effluent. However, conventional ozone generating processes have several undesirable features including high capital costs. The proposed sterilization process uses a fundamentally new method for making ozone offering several cost and process advantages including improved sterilant penetration qualities. The Phase I research will evaluate the antimicrobial and sporicidal properties of this sterilization process using biological indicators and simulated medical waste. The overall goal is to develop a dual-use santitation system with environmental and cost advantages for on-site waste treatment at military and private sector hospitals.