Bacterial Emissions from Incineration of Hospital Waste

摘要

The research examined the emissions from a hospital incinerator to determine if human pathogenic bacteria were being released into community air. Incineration of the hospital waste resulted in stack gas with excessively high particulate matter and hydrochloric acid which made sampling impossible. Incineration of a substitute waste consisting of paper products, water, and cultures of Bacillus subtilis (a spore producing bacteria) resulted in no viable Bacillus subtilis in the stack gas samples. Eight bacteria species other than Bacillus subtilis were found in stack gas samples. The indoor air was similar to the stack gas in bacteria number and species composition. It was concluded that these bacteria were able to pass through the incinerator via excess air entering the secondary combustion chamber. One human pathogen (Staphylococcus aureus) was found in the indoor air samples and elevated levels of bacteria were found in hospital hallways adjacent to the incinerator where waste handling occurred.