مینا محققی

Hospitals are among the major centers in the production of pharmaceutical wastes. Ineffective management and inappropriate disposal of pharmaceutical wastes in various healthcare centers cause environmental problems and threaten human health. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the composition and amount of the production rate of pharmaceutical wastes in a specialized hospital in Tehran, Iran, in 2017.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in a specialized hospital under the supervision of Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran in 2017. For waste sampling, 19 active sections were selected in the present study. Method of separating and weighing wastes was used in this study. Finally, the total amount, production per bed, density, and weight percentage of waste components were determined in the present study.

According to the results, it was shown that the mean value of waste production was 60.14±5.81 kg/day in the studied hospital. Moreover, the waste production rate per bed was 85g/bed/day, and its density was obtained at 356.99±70.26 kg/m2. Results of physical analysis showed that 44.34% of vial and ampoule lesions, 12.4% of syringe lesions, 22.31% of buttocks and serum sets, and 29.24% of various lesions constituted the components. It should be noted that about 67.25% of vial lesions were related to antibiotics. Based on the findings, meroxan, cefazolin, and ciprofloxacin with 19.95%, 17.43%, and 14.56% were reported as the highest rates among the antibiotics, respectively.

According to the obtained results of this study, the presence of household-like and infectious wastes among the components of pharmaceutical wastes indicated the proper separation. Proper separation of wastes leads to a lower amount of wastes and reduces management costs. In this regard, hospital managers should pay more attention to the management of these wastes.

Nowadays, the increasing use of antibiotics to control diseases and mismanagement and inappropriate disposal of medicinal wastes cause environmental problems and threatens human health. The present study was conducted to determine removal of antibiotic Metronidazole as one of the most used drugs during the process of composting.

In this experimental study, a mixture of livestock manure, fruit, straw and sludge were used for the preparation of compost. Duration of the process was 40 days. Metronidazole was added to the compost reactors at three concentrations of 20, 50 and 100 mg/kg. Totally, 42 Samples were taken weekly. HPLC was used to analyze the samples. The experiment was repeated twice. SPSS22 software was used to analyze the results.

The rate of Metronidazole removal after day 21 and end of the thermophilic phase was 99.9, 96.73 and 93.48 % in the reactors contained 20, 50 and 100 mg/kg, respectively. Increasing concentrations in the reactors caused the removal rate to decrease, while increasing removal time caused to increase the removal rate. At the end of the process, the removal rate for all three reactors was 99.99 %. The physico-chemical properties of the final compost were within the national standard.

The use of an aerobic composting process to degrade antibiotic Metronidazole is an economical, effective and, environmentally friendly method. At the end of the process, 99.99 % of Metronidazole was degraded.

Introduction and The growing trend of using antibiotics to control human and animal diseases and lack of attention to the disposal of medical, hospital, and pharmaceutical industry wastes have led to the emergence of environmental problems. regarding this, the present study was conducted to determine the antibiotic degradation of ciprofloxacin during the composting process.
The present experimental study was conducted using a mixture of livestock manure, fruit residue, straw, and sludge to prepare compost over 40 days. Ciprofloxacin was added to the compost reactors at three concentrations of 20, 50, and 100 mg/kg. The temperature, humidity, carbon to nitrogen ratio, and pH of the compost were monitored, and reactor sampling was performed weekly. The analysis of antibiotics was accomplished using a high-performance liquid chromatography. The data were analyzed through the one-way ANOVA in the SPSS software (version 22).
According to the results, the rates of ciprofloxacin degradation at day 21 and end of the thermophilic phase were 89.47, 88.81, and 86.46% in reactors 20, 50, and 100 mg/kg, respectively. At the end of the process, all three reactors had the removal rate of 99.99%. Moreover, the physio-chemical properties of the final compost were within the national standard.
As the findings indicated, the use of aerobic composting process to degrade ciprofloxacin is an economical, effective, and environmentally friendly method. Accordingly, at the end of the process, 99.99% of ciprofloxacin was degraded.