Analysis of quality and quantity of health-care wastes in clinical laboratories: a case study of Ilam city

Generation of health-care wastes is one of the major concerns in health-care institutions worldwide due to direct and indirect impact on human health and environment. The purpose of the present work was to estimate the quantity and quality of clinical laboratory wastes in the city of Ilam, Iran. In this cross-sectional study, randomly eight clinical laboratories including five in private sector and three governmental clinical laboratories were selected for sampling according to the purpose of the study. The results showed that the total amount of waste generation was 27,700.90 kg/year. The average amount of health-care wastes generation in Ilam city was 0.2 kg/person/year. The portions of general, pathologic, sharp, infectious, and pharmaceutical and chemical wastes were 37, 5, 2, and 56% (by weight), respectively. As a considerable amount of waste is generated in clinical laboratories of Ilam city, therefore, it is necessary to implement integrated plans for the proper management of these wastes. Thus, sufficient training and education programs must be developed for all clinical staffs and that the existing training and education procedures should also be promoted.