Georges Mvogo Ekani^1,2*, Séverin Mbog Mbog^1,2, Julbin Paul Njock^1,2, Patrice Ngoko Polmbaye^1,2, Patrice Boulleys^2,3, Borel Netam Belle^2,4 and Dieudonné Bitondo^1,2

¹Department of Quality, Hygiene, Safety and Industrial Environment Engineering, Higher National Polytechnic National School of Douala, University of Douala, Cameroon
²Laboratory of Energy, Materials, Modelling and Methods, Higher National Polytechnic School of Douala, University of Douala, Cameroon
³Hygiene and Sanitation, Littoral Regional Public Health Delegation, Douala, Cameroon
⁴Hospital Hygiene and Sanitation, Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital, Douala, Cameroon

*Corresponding Author: Georges Mvogo Ekani, Department of Quality, Hygiene, Safety and Industrial Environment Engineering, Higher National Polytechnic National School of Douala, University of Douala, Cameroon.

Received: December 05, 2023; Published: December 21, 2023

Abstract

Incineration of infectious solid hospital wastes (ISHWs) is a high-temperature oxidation process that reduces organic and combustible wastes to inorganic and incombustible materials through two options: "decentralised" incineration, where wastes from one health facility (HF) are destroyed on its site, and "centralised" incineration, where wastes from several HFs are pooled for destruction. Particularly in Douala HFs, decentralised incineration is the common option practised using artisanal incinerators which are potential sources of health and environmental risks. This paper assesses the ISHW incineration in the specific case of public and private HFs of Douala, in order to identify shortcomings and propose a sustainable management strategy. The methodology used was divided into three parts: (i) documentary research, (ii) data collection and (iii) data processing. 623 HFs were identified with annual production of ISHWs of 31.317 tonnes per year. Of the 88 ISHW incinerators inventoried, 83 are artisanal and 5 modern. Uncontrolled decentralised incineration of ISHWs is practised by 13.3% of HFs against 0.8% of HFs practising controlled decentralised incineration of ISHWs. In the perspective of safe ISHW incineration, the pooling through the creation of incineration pools between HFs close to those with modern incinerators, appears as a sustainable management strategy in Douala.

 Keywords: Infectious Solid Hospital Wastes; Health Facilities; Pooling; Incineration; Sustainable Management Strategy; Douala

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Citation

Citation: Georges Mvogo Ekani., et al. “Assessment of Infectious Solid Hospital Waste Incineration in Health Facilities of Douala, Cameroon”.Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 8.1 (2024): 58-67.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2024 Georges Mvogo Ekani., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.