Medical waste incinerators emit a wide range of pollutants like heavy metals, dioxins and furans. These include Pb （lead）, Hg （mercury）, Cd （cadmium）, fine dust particles and PICs （products of incomplete combus...Medical waste incinerators emit a wide range of pollutants like heavy metals, dioxins and furans. These include Pb （lead）, Hg （mercury）, Cd （cadmium）, fine dust particles and PICs （products of incomplete combustion）. The objective was to determine the elemental composition of medical waste residue after incineration in selected hospitals in Kiambu County, Kenya. Bottom/fly ash samples were collected from the burners/incinerators in the selected health care facilities visited. The concentrations of the metals in the fly ash and bottom ash were determined using an XRF （X-ray fluorescence） spectrometer after acid digestion. The concentrations of heavy metals in the fly and bottom ash were as follows： Ti （titanium） 62-839 mg·kg^-1 and a mean of 202 mg·kg^-1 and 344 mg·kg^-1 in fly ash and bottom ash, respectively. Ca （calcium） was 37,753-204,475 mg.kg1 with means of 27,132 mg.kg-1 in fly ash and 131,185 mgg·kg^-1 in bottom ash. Zn （zinc） was 297-6,605 mg·kg^-1 with means （2,307 mg·kg^-1 in fly ash, 4,359 mg·kg^-1 in bottom ash）, Pb （13-1,819 mg·kg^-1） had means of 280 mg·kg^-1 in fly ash and 291 mg-kg-1 in bottom ash. Cu （copper） （9.5-250 mg·kg^-1） had means of 83.47 mg·kg^-1 in fly ash and 98.8 mg·kg^-1 in bottom ash. The wide variations in results can be attributed to the different burners/incinerators used and different segregation methods of the medical waste. The results show that the reported levels of heavy metals could pose a health risk due to possible leaching after disposal.展开更多
文摘Medical waste incinerators emit a wide range of pollutants like heavy metals, dioxins and furans. These include Pb （lead）, Hg （mercury）, Cd （cadmium）, fine dust particles and PICs （products of incomplete combustion）. The objective was to determine the elemental composition of medical waste residue after incineration in selected hospitals in Kiambu County, Kenya. Bottom/fly ash samples were collected from the burners/incinerators in the selected health care facilities visited. The concentrations of the metals in the fly ash and bottom ash were determined using an XRF （X-ray fluorescence） spectrometer after acid digestion. The concentrations of heavy metals in the fly and bottom ash were as follows： Ti （titanium） 62-839 mg·kg^-1 and a mean of 202 mg·kg^-1 and 344 mg·kg^-1 in fly ash and bottom ash, respectively. Ca （calcium） was 37,753-204,475 mg.kg1 with means of 27,132 mg.kg-1 in fly ash and 131,185 mgg·kg^-1 in bottom ash. Zn （zinc） was 297-6,605 mg·kg^-1 with means （2,307 mg·kg^-1 in fly ash, 4,359 mg·kg^-1 in bottom ash）, Pb （13-1,819 mg·kg^-1） had means of 280 mg·kg^-1 in fly ash and 291 mg-kg-1 in bottom ash. Cu （copper） （9.5-250 mg·kg^-1） had means of 83.47 mg·kg^-1 in fly ash and 98.8 mg·kg^-1 in bottom ash. The wide variations in results can be attributed to the different burners/incinerators used and different segregation methods of the medical waste. The results show that the reported levels of heavy metals could pose a health risk due to possible leaching after disposal.
