Medical Wastewater Characterization in the Gaza Strip: Al-Shifa Medical Complex as a Case Study

Al-Shifa medical complex is one of the most famous medical complex in the Gaza Strip. Since 1946 it was expanded many times, nowadays, the total clinical capacity has 564 beds on an area of 42,000 m2. The main aim of the current research is to characterize the medical wastewater in the Gaza Strip. Currently, wastewater from hospitals is discharged to the public network then to overloaded central wastewater treatment plants, where partially treated effluent is infiltrate to the groundwater and the majority discharged to the sea. Composite samples from different sectors of the complex are collected every two hours for 24 hours and analyzed for physical and chemical characteristics. The pH from different medical sectors showed an acceptable range for disposal to the public network, while the salinity was extremely high and differs from sector to another. The Surgery department recorded the highest wastewater pollution i.e. TSS, BOD, and COD accounted for 3008, 1150, and 5350 mg/L, respectively, while the highest TKN (117 mg/L) was from the surgery operation room. Heavy metals such as Cd, Zn, and Pb in the medical wastewater from Al-Shifa medical complex do not constitute a threat to public wastewater sewerage system, mostly below the detection limits. It is highly recommended to further investigate the causes of strong pollution from both the surgery department and surgery room to propose pretreatment before disposal to the public network. Microbiology and infectious diseases and radioactive pollution should be considered in future planned research to gain comprehensive medical waste characteristics in the Gaza Strip.