E-DRUG: Disposal of unwanted drugs and clinical waste
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De Montfort University (Leicester - UK) is developing a low-cost,
simple technology, high-temperature incinerator. Designed originally
for combustion of clinical waste, unwanted pharmaceuticals have now
been included in the project at ECHO's instigation.
The design is based on a single combustion chamber with secondary
combustion of waste gases. It ensures that with proper use the
combustion temperature remains above 850 deg.C. At or above this
temperature, the incinerator can burn up to 50kg waste per hour,
depending on the calorific value of the material and whether it is
dry or wet.
The prototype is fuelled by ordinary fire wood, but gas and liquid
fuel models will be developed in the future. Depending on local
costs, the full construction ready-for-use should cost less than
1000 pounds sterling.
Tests on the wood-fired prototype have proved that:
anatomical material, dressings, pharmaceuticals, are completely
reduced; objects of mild or stainless steel (injection needles,
containers) are totally or partially reduced and rendered
unusable; glass objects are partly melted, removing all sharp
edges; resulting ash or debris is non-hazardous, low-volume
and easily disposed of.
The entire project is funded by UK Dept. for International
Development and the pilot phase is virtually complete. Field
trials and a Demand Survey will be carried out during the next
twelve months. Two sites have already been identified for
trials of clinical waste combustion. In view of concerns about
disposal of unwanted drugs and sharps, ECHO has been
asked to identify from the 'essential drugs' community a
further two to four sites for trials where combustion of
unwanted pharmaceuticals and sharps will be a major focus.
Such sites must be in accessible areas and with access to expert
engineering help (eg. at a university) so that any field
modifications to the design can be correctly carried out.
Participants are also required for the Demand Survey. The need
for such an incinerator is very evident from past correspondence
but the Demand Survey is designed to find out who actually will
be able to spend money on setting up and running the incinerator
and to check out environmental and safety considerations as well.
The trials and survey will be restricted, for management reasons, to
a small number of countries - Cameroon, Malawi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe,
Bangladesh, India, Nepal. Anyone in these countries who is
interested in either the Field Trials or the Demand Survey, or is
just interested to know more, should contact me direct by e-mail as
soon as possible. A two-page summary of the project, with a
(not-to-scale) drawing of the incinerator, is available.
When the Trials and Survey are complete (towards the end of 1998) it
is expected that the design will be made available and that the
components will be marketed by ECHO in a kit format to supplement
materials which can be sourced locally. The construction is simple
but the measurements are crucial - the incinerator should not be
constructed without the approved design.
Carolyn Green, Sen.Pharmaceutical Adviser
ECHO International Health Services
Ullswater Crescent, Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 2HR, UK
Fax 0044 181 668 0751
Tel 0044 181 660 2220
e-mail greencm@echohealth.org.uk
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