Investigating of State the Management of Medical Waste in Health Centers of Qazvin County, Iran

Medical waste is one of the most important public health and environmental challenges. The aim of this study was the assessment of generation rate and management of medical waste in health centers of Qazvin.

In this descriptive-analytical study, generation rate and status of collection and storage, decontamination and disposal of medical waste in 10 health care center, 7 health post and 12 health house in Qazvin county were collected through observation, interview and standard checklist and their status was assessment by adapting to health regulations and instructions.

The amount of medical waste generation in health centers, bases and health houses was 5.31, 2.1 and 1.68 kg per day, respectively. General wastes had the highest production rate and chemical and pharmaceutical wastes had the lowest production rates in the studied centers. Medical waste management in health centers and bases was better than the health houses.

Some of activities related to medical waste management, especially collection and transportation, on-site or off-site decontamination, chemical and pharmaceutical waste do not comply with national laws and regulations.