Biomedical waste management: incineration vs. environmental safety.

Public concerns about incinerator emissions, as well as the creation of federal regulations for medical waste incinerators, are causing many health care facilities to rethink their choices in medical waste treatment. As stated by Health Care Without Harm, non-incineration treatment technologies are a growing and developing field. Most medical waste is incinerated, a practice that is short-lived because of environmental considerations. The burning of solid and regulated medical waste generated by health care creates many problems. Medical waste incinerators emit toxic air pollutants and toxic ash residues that are the major source of dioxins in the environment. International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of WHO, acknowledged dioxins cancer causing potential and classified it as human carcinogen. Development of waste management policies, careful waste segregation and training programs, as well as attention to materials purchased, are essential in minimizing the environmental and health impacts of any technology.