scholarly journals Assessment of the possibility of surgical masks re-use after a sterilization process in the pandemic condition of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 004051752110428
Author(s):  
Malgorzata Zimniewska ◽  
Henryk Witmanowski ◽  
Anna Kicinska-Jakubowska ◽  
Arkadiusz Jundzill ◽  
Edyta Kwiatkowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Permeability ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Steam Sterilization ◽  
Plasma Sterilization ◽  
Medical Centers ◽  
Waste Production ◽  
Surgical Masks ◽  
Cover Ratio ◽  
Mechanical Ability ◽  
Sterilization Process

The aim of this study was to explore the possibility to re-use disposable masks in order to prevent excessive waste generation during the pandemic period. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused rapidly increasing waste production resulting from the necessity of common usage of disposable personal protective equipment. This research covers the evaluation of the structure of surgical masks subjected to a threefold steam, gas or plasma sterilization process in order to verify the possibility of their re-use. The results of the study showed that gas sterilization even after three cycles did not cause significant changes in mask structure or air permeability. Hydrogen peroxide plasma sterilization caused significant changes in the structure of layer A after the third cycle of sterilization; nonetheless, it did not influence the air permeability of the mask. A significant reduction in the cover ratio of layers composing surgical masks causes an increase of air permeability in the case of steam sterilization, leading to a reduction of the mechanical ability to prevent the penetration of microorganisms. The reduction in cover ratio limits the filtration efficiency. Surgical masks subjected to threefold gas sterilization can be recommended for re-use. This allows one to use the mask thrice, ensuring safety for users and limiting the mask-waste production to one-third of the volume compared with when the mask is used once. The volume of mask-waste can be reduced with the application of the sterilization process for used masks during the pandemic period. Currently, it is not possible to sterilize all one-use masks, but implementation of this method in hospitals and medical centers is a step in the pro-environmental direction.

scholarly journals An Assessment of Solid Waste and Landfilis in Muscat Area, Oman

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaa El-Zawahry ◽  
Abulbasher M. Shahalam ◽  
Ramzi Taha ◽  
Turki Al-Busaidi
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Solid Wastes ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Sultanate Of Oman ◽  
Waste Discharge ◽  
Waste Production ◽  
Solid Waste Generation ◽  
Waste Generation Rate

The paper presents the results of a 1998 study of the solid waste generation within the greater Muscat City area. The recent data were compared with the available data from the last 10 years to assess the solid waste problems within the area. Five operating landfills were used as the data collection points. It appeared that through the last decade, the solid waste generation rate has increased sharply. However, the rate of waste production stabilized to 750 – 800 ton/day during the last three years of the 1990s. The rate amounts to 1.5 kg/person/day. Overall municipal waste volume decreased through the years while the amounts generated from private sources such as industries and commercial centers increased during the same period. This is due to the fact that the Sultanate of Oman is developing very fast with increasing industrial, commercial and residential activities. About 80 % of the solid wastes is organic materials. This amount is high when compared to figures found in western countries. The data indicate that about 40 percent of the solid wastes are composed of recoverable materials. The concerned authorities should encourage the growth of industries to be involved in recycling business. Such activities will reduce the solid waste discharge in landfills and increase nearly 1.6 folds the expected life of existing landfills. A survey of the operating landfills indicate that the operational efficiency may be substantially improved by incorporating measures that deal with problems of gas production and leachate movements. The paper includes a detailed discussion of the problem and makes recommendations for possible future actions.  

Design of Low-Cost Solar Parabolic Through Steam Sterilization

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-60
Author(s):  
N. K. Sharma ◽  
Ashok Kumar Mishra ◽  
P. Rajgopal
Keyword(s):  
Heat Pipe ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Steam Sterilization ◽  
Parabolic Trough ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Medical Instruments ◽  
Sterilization Process ◽  
Evacuated Tube ◽  
Sun Light

The objective of this study is to develop a low cost solar parabolic trough that can be used for steam sterilization of medical instruments in small clinics where electricity is scarce and expensive. On the basis of theoretical concepts of parabola and focus-balanced parabola, the assembly of ribs and reflector sheet with evacuated tube and heat pipe has been done. The parabolic trough has been mounted on a trolley so that it can be moved easily according to direction of sun light. The designed solar parabolic trough was integrated with pressure cooker under various setups and experiments were conducted to test whether sterilization is taking place or not. To validate sterilization process, tests were also conducted by placing the infected medical instruments. The solar parabolic trough developed was able to generate and maintain steam at 121 degrees Celsius at pressure 15 psig (101.3 kN/m2) for 15 minutes. The solar parabolic trough developed was effective in sterilizing the medical instruments.

Steam Sterilization Validation for Implementation of Parametric Release at a Healthcare Facility

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Swenson ◽  
Jonathan A. Wilder ◽  
Charles O. Hancock
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Product Family ◽  
Healthcare Facility ◽  
Biological Indicator ◽  
Quality Assurance Program ◽  
Steam Sterilization ◽  
Chemical Indicators ◽  
Sterilization Process ◽  
Family Based ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Hospitals are under continual pressure to improve turnaround times for surgical procedures and to find ways to release sterilized product without the need to wait for biological indicator (BI) results. Current procedures used in healthcare do not allow for release of sterilized products based on parameters because hospitals do not validate their sterilization processes. Once a sterilization process is validated for a particular product family, those loads may be released based upon evaluation of the sterilization parameters achieved in the cycle, i.e., parametric release. Typically, hospitals do not perform validation studies to demonstrate that a sterility assurance level (SAL) of 10−6 is being achieved in the sterilized product, relying instead on inactivation of BIs and/or chemical indicators (CIs) in each load. If a healthcare facility can demonstrate achievement of a SAL of 10−6 in a particular product family then it will be possible to release the products in that product family based on achievement of parameters without waiting for BI results. This does not mean that the healthcare facility can eliminate use of all BIs and CIs as part of the criteria for a comprehensive quality assurance program, but dependence on their results and the cost of their use may be greatly reduced. Validation provides another component in a quality assurance program to demonstrate that the highest SAL possible is being provided to patients while still providing the services required by today's healthcare facility.

scholarly journals Analisis Kinerja Pengelolaan Sampah Kota Palangka Raya

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-44
Author(s):  
Muhammad Arif Fathuddin Hamdie ◽  
Adi Jaya ◽  
Evi Veronika Elbaar ◽  
Herry Redin ◽  
Ici Piter Kulu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
City Government ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Management Performance ◽  
Quantitative Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Waste Production ◽  
Quantitative Descriptive ◽  
The City

In the city of Palangka Raya with a population of 266,000 people, waste is a problem, among others, due to the limited facilities and infrastructure to support waste transportation. The average amount of waste transported by the Palangka Raya City Garbage Transport Team only reached 48.94% of the total waste that must be transported every month which reached 27,628.2 m³. Thus, the rate of waste production is still faster than efforts to overcome it. The purpose of this research is to study the performance of waste management in Palangka Raya City from the generation of waste, support for financing, and regulation, as well as to study the priority aspects as supporting the performance of waste management so that waste management can improve and the aspects that are the main causes and can affect the management performance of waste, as well as how the planning and commitment of the Palangka Raya City government towards improving the performance of waste management. The research method is quantitative descriptive, analysis of waste management performance data and priority setting is carried out with a Likert Scale modification. The number of respondents as many as 30 people who are all waste management supervisors in Pahandut and Jekan Raya Subdistricts which are the research locations. The results show that the value response in the form of a percentage that is considered appropriate requires priority handling, namely waste facilities (81%) as the first priority, financial support (70%) as the second priority, waste generation (69%) the third priority, regulation (65%) , and waste infrastructure (53%). In general, the performance of solid waste management in the City of Palangka Raya needs to be improved, especially in the waste facilities because the amount of waste generated in the City of Palangka Raya has not been balanced with the performance of waste management.

scholarly journals E-Waste: Current Research and Future Perspective on Developing Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
L. Halim ◽  
Y. Suharyanti
Keyword(s):  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Electrical Equipment ◽  
Literature Survey ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Waste Production ◽  
Open Access Journals ◽  
Specific Country

Increase of population, purchasing power, and development of technology give consequence to Waste of Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) or e-waste generation. Increasing rate of e-waste production and its hazardous content raise the concern regarding e-waste. This paper aims to describe the research development on e-waste in various countries and propose the perspective of future research. The study based on literature survey in open access journals using ‘e-waste’ as the keyword. Article selection was done by considering the reputability of the source and cited frequency. From the articles reviewed, China contributed to most of the researches. Some of most studied topic namely e-waste management, e-waste impact to human health and environment and current status of e-waste treatment in specific country. Brief explanation on each topic and insight on future research are also provided. 

scholarly journals Bali Bebas Sampah Plastik (menuju “Clean and Green Island”)

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-46
Author(s):  
Ekapria Dharana Kubontubuh
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Waste Production ◽  
Green Island

Waste becomes an environmental problem in Bali and requires attention immediately. Plastic waste is the second largest component in waste generation in Bali, which very harmful to health and threatens Bali tourism. Plastic waste production in Bali reaches 268 tons every day and only 29.4% of plastic waste is disposed of to landfills. While 44.5% of plastic waste is not processed so that pollutes the environment especially the river and the sea. The Bali Provincial Government realize the dangers of plastic waste and tried to limit generations by issuing regulations that limit the generation of plastic waste. Due to the regulation, it is expected to reduce the generation of plastic waste up to 60-70% so that it can improve environmental quality and have a positive impact on the quality of life and public health as well as Bali tourism. One important point is that being free from plastic will lead Bali into a clean and green island. 

scholarly journals COMPARISON OF CONSTRUCTION WASTE GENERATION BETWEEN INDUSTRIAL BUILDING SYSTEMS (IBS) WITH CONVENTIONAL SYSTEMS

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (14) ◽  
pp. 72-83
Author(s):  
Sharifah Meryam Shareh Musa ◽  
Azlina Md Yassin ◽  
Rozlin Zainal ◽  
Haryati Shafii ◽  
Pei Yin Yeo
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Industrial Building ◽  
Construction Site ◽  
Waste Generation ◽  
Construction Waste ◽  
Waste Production ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Conventional Methods ◽  
Conventional Systems

Rapid growth in the construction industry has increased construction waste generation and caused serious impact on the environment. In Malaysia, most contractors are using the conventional method as the main method in the construction process. However, using conventional methods for construction work is not environmentally friendly because of the poor quality control at the construction site and the uncontrolled waste production. This has contributed to pollution problems in the environment in the form of air and water pollution, and construction waste. The aim of this study was to identify the type of construction waste and causes of waste generation from conventional methods with IBS. In addition, this study also suggests measures to minimize construction waste generation at the construction site. This study used quantitative methods of questionnaires as an instrument. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed to the G7 contractors and developers in Johor to get feedback. The data obtained were analyzed using statistical methods and indices mean. From the results, it was found that most types of solid waste high in conventional construction are wood (3.85) but with the use of IBS, wood waste generation can be reduced (3.15). For the source of waste generation, it shows that the handling process is the main cause with the mean score (3.47) in IBS and the mean score (3.75) during construction is carried out for conventional methods. Therefore, IBS technology is the considered best option in order to minimize waste generation at the construction site.

scholarly journals The effect of moisture of cotton fabrics on steam sterilization

2021 ◽  
pp. 89-89
Author(s):  
Yao Shen ◽  
Xiangang Li ◽  
Xianzhao Zheng ◽  
Yanbing Zhao ◽  
Xiaozhi Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cotton Fabric ◽  
Thermal Equilibrium ◽  
Thermal Conduction ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Cotton Fabrics ◽  
Steam Sterilization ◽  
Moisture Concentration ◽  
Equilibrium Time ◽  
Sterilization Process ◽  
Effect Of Moisture

This paper is to study the effect of cotton fabric?s moisture on steam sterilization process. An experiment is designed to measure the thermal equilibrium time under different moisture concentrations. The results show that a higher moisture concentration leads to a longer thermal equilibrium time, and it does not affect the wet pack?s penetration efficiency when the moisture concentration is below the threshold value of 30%. The paper concludes that a higher humidity is unfavorable for the thermal conduction during the sterilization process.

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