The challenge of medical waste management: a case study in northwest Iran-Tabriz.

This article presents the results of a descriptive cross-sectional study on medical waste management in Tabriz (Iran's fourth largest city). The study was conducted in 10 of 25 active hospitals of the city in the summer of 2007. The methodology of the present study was based on data collected from hospitals through a checklist, site visits (observation), and quantity analysis by weight. The results indicated that more than 13.59 tonnes day—1 of total medical waste and 4.06 tonnes day—1 of hazardous-infectious medical waste are generated by the active hospitals of the city. Currently, there are no practical instructions, or suitable supervision on different levels of waste management. The health authorities and hospital managers do not accept sufficient responsibility for the medical waste due to financial problems and the lack of awareness regarding the hazards of medical waste. Segregation and minimization of waste are not carried out correctly in any of the hospitals. The use of protective measures by s...