Análise do sistema de gerenciamento dos resíduos de serviços de saúde pérfuro-cortantes nos municípios da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio dos Sinos

Abstract

Lately, the increased urbanization rate in addition to both economic and technological development have contributed to changes in environmental characteristics, causing an excessive increase in pollutants. Although healthcare waste represents a small portion of urban generated wastes among the various types that are generated by humankind, it is significantly important because of its likelihood to infect workers and contaminate the environment given the potential presence of biological, chemical and radioactive agents. In the Sinos River Basin’s thirty-two municipalities, a population of one million three hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants is estimated, being that nearly 95% live in areas classified as urban. This dissertation is part of the Sinos River Basin Plan elaboration project (Sinos Plan), which will define the set of middle and long run actions that will result in water quality and quantity needed for both the uses and activities intended for by the population in the next 20 years. This research focused on the difficulties associated to healthcare waste management, specifically Class E wastes, also known as sharps. Questionnaires were administered to healthcare waste generating areas in institutions located in the Sinos River Basin in order to analyze their currently implemented waste management methodologies. Result analysis indicated that 48,6% of the answers correspond to adequate waste management steps or to compliance with specific Brazilian laws and regulations. When comparing managerial operations, it was noted that private healthcare organizations have better waste management than their public counterparts. In high impact municipalities (larger municipal areas and population), health organizations such as “laboratories, blood banks and drugstores” were the ones that notably presented the worst results in terms of healthcare waste management. For the remaining municipalities, “doctors’ offices/dentist clinics, veterinary clinics, drugstores and mobile units” were the ones that presented the most precarious knowledge regarding specific legal requirements relevant to the studied topic.