E-DRUG: Disposal of unwanted drugs and clinical waste

["carolyn green" <greencm@echohealth.org.uk>]

E-DRUG: Disposal of unwanted drugs and clinical waste
-----------------------------------------------------

De Montfort University (Leicester - UK) is developing a low-cost, 
simple technology, high-temperature incinerator. Designed originally 
for combustion of clinical waste, unwanted pharmaceuticals have now 
been included in the project at ECHO's instigation.  

The design is based on a single combustion chamber with secondary 
combustion of waste gases.  It ensures that with proper use the 
combustion temperature remains above 850 deg.C.  At or above this 
temperature, the incinerator can burn up to 50kg waste per hour, 
depending on the calorific value of the material and whether it is 
dry or wet. 

The prototype is fuelled by ordinary fire wood, but gas and liquid 
fuel models will be developed in the future.  Depending on local 
costs, the full construction ready-for-use should cost less than 
1000 pounds sterling.

Tests on the wood-fired prototype have proved that:  
anatomical material, dressings, pharmaceuticals, are completely 
reduced;  objects of mild or stainless steel (injection needles, 
containers) are totally or partially reduced and rendered 
unusable;  glass objects are partly melted, removing all sharp 
edges;  resulting ash or debris  is non-hazardous, low-volume 
and easily disposed of.

The entire project is funded by UK Dept. for International 
Development and the pilot phase is virtually complete.  Field 
trials and a Demand Survey will be carried out during the next 
twelve months.  Two sites have already been identified for 
trials of clinical waste combustion.  In view of concerns about
disposal of unwanted drugs and sharps, ECHO has been 
asked to identify from the 'essential drugs' community a 
further two to four sites for trials where combustion of 
unwanted pharmaceuticals and sharps will be a major focus. 
Such sites must be in accessible areas and with access to expert 
engineering help (eg. at a university) so that any field 
modifications to the design can be correctly carried out.

Participants are also required for the Demand Survey.  The need 
for such an incinerator is very evident from past correspondence 
but the Demand Survey is designed to find out who actually will 
be able to spend money on setting up and running the incinerator 
and to check out environmental and safety considerations as well.

The trials and survey will be restricted, for management reasons, to 
a small number of  countries - Cameroon, Malawi, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, 
Bangladesh, India, Nepal.  Anyone in these countries who is 
interested in either the Field Trials or the Demand Survey, or is 
just interested to know more, should contact me direct by e-mail as 
soon as possible.  A two-page summary of the project, with a 
(not-to-scale) drawing of the incinerator, is available.

When the Trials and Survey are complete (towards the end of 1998) it 
is expected that the design will be made available and that the 
components will be marketed by ECHO in a kit format to supplement 
materials which can be sourced locally.  The construction is simple 
but the measurements are crucial - the incinerator should not be 
constructed without the approved design.

Carolyn Green, Sen.Pharmaceutical Adviser
ECHO International Health Services
Ullswater Crescent, Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 2HR, UK
Fax 0044 181 668 0751
Tel 0044 181 660 2220
e-mail  greencm@echohealth.org.uk

--
Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to:  `owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.