PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS EAS 491 
First  Edition  
2016-mm-dd 
 
 Reference number  
DUS EAS 491: 2008 
© UNBS 201 6 
  
Incineration plant for the destruction of hospital waste — 
Specification 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDUS EAS 491: 2008 
ii                © UNBS  2016  - All rights reserved 
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself confer immunity from legal obligations  
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all necessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its correct application  
© UNBS 2016 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without prior written 
permission from UNBS. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to 
The Executive Director 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
P.O. Box 6329 
Kampala 
Uganda 
Tel: 256 417 333 2 50/1/2/3 
Fax: 256 414 286 123 
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTDUS EAS 491:2008 
© UNBS  2016 - All rights reserved                iii National foreword 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and 
Cooperatives established under Cap 327, of the Laws of Uganda, as amended.  UNBS is mandated to co-
ordinate the elaboration of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT Agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). 
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of representatives of 
consumers, traders, academicians, manufacturers, government and other stakeholders. 
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comments before recommending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
This Draft Uganda Standard, DUS EAS 491: 2008, Incineration plant for the destruction of hospital waste — 
Specification,  is identical with  and has been reproduced from an East African Standard, EAS 491 : 2008 , 
Incineration plant for the destruction of hospital waste — Specification,  and is being proposed for adoption as 
a Uganda Standard. 
This standard was developed by the Building and civil engineering Standards Technical Committee (UNBS/TC 
3). 
Wherever the words, “ East African Standard" appear, they should be replaced by "Uganda Standard." 
 
  PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTEAS 491:2008 
ICS 13.030.40 
HS 8419.20.90 
 
© EAS 2008 First Edition 2008 
 
 
  
 
 
EAST AFRICAN STANDARD 
 
Incineration plant for the destruct ion of hospital waste —  
Specification 
 
 
 
 
  
  
   
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTEAS 491:2008  
ii © EAS 2008 — All rights reserved  
 
Foreword 
 
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements governing quality of products and services in East Africa. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers which are encountered when goods and services are 
exchanged within the Community will be removed.   
In order to achieve this objective, the Partner States in the Community through their National Bureaux 
of Standards, have established an East African Standards Committee.  
The Committee is composed of representatives of the National Standards B odies in Partner States, 
together with the representatives from the private sectors and consumer organizations. Draft East 
African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the Partner 
States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in accordance with the procedures of the Community.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the 
East African Standards are therefore expected to ensu re that they always have the latest versions of 
the standards they are implementing.  
 © East African Community 2008 — All rights reserved 
East African Community  
P O Box 1096  
Arusha 
 
Tanzania  Tel: 255 27 2504253/8 
Fax: 255-27-2504481/2504255 
E-Mail: eac@eachq.org
 
Web: www.each.org PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTEAS 491:2008  
© EAS 2008 — All rights reserved iii Introduction 
 
This East African Standard specifies the performance requirements which have to be met by an 
incinerator, and which can be verified by testing the incinerator in accordance with the methods of test and calculation given in EAS 492:2008. Hospital waste varies considerably in density between 
hospitals and throughout each day. The designer of the incinerator has to take that variability into 
account. If and when research takes place which provides useful figures on build density, these will be incorporated into the standard. 
 
The testing of incineration plant, alter the completion of installation and settling to work, essential in order to establish that the specified performance criteria are achieved in any given installation.  
 
This standard is part of a four-series standards as listed below:  EAS 491:2008, Incineration plant for the destruction of hospital waste — Specification  
 EAS 492:2008, Incineration plant for the destruction of hospital waste — Method of test and 
calculation for the performance  
 EAS 493:2008, Incineration plant for the destruction of hospital waste — Method for specifying 
purchaser's requirements   
 EAS 494:2008, Incineration plant for the destruction of hospital waste — Code of practice for the 
design, specification, installation and commissioning  
  
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTPUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTEAS 491:2008  
© EAS 2008 — All rights reserved  1  
Incineration plant for the destruct ion of hospital waste —  
Specification 
 
 
1 Scope  
 
 
This East African standard specifies the performance requirements for incineration plant, assisted by auxiliary fuel if required, suitable for the destruction of hospital waste.  
Devices which utilize intensities of combustion exceeding an average heat release rate of 350 W/m
3 
are not included. This standard does not specify materials or methods of construction. 
 2 Definitions  
 For the purpose of this standard, the following definitions shall apply.  2.1 auxiliary fuel consumption 
the quotient of the total quantity of fuel used duri ng the incineration of a specified quantity of waste 
and the total mass of the quantity of waste (in kJ/kg) 
 
2.2 
charge 
the quantity of waste (in kg) loaded into the incinerator during one charging operation 
 2.3 charging period 
the specified period (in h) over which the incinerator is to  be charged with hospital waste 
 
2.4 charging frequency 
the quotient of the incinerator capacity and the charge (in charges per hour)  
2.5 
charging or loading 
the process of transferring a charge into the primary combustion chamber 
 
2.6 
combustible matter in residue  
the amount of unburnt combustible material, remaining in the residue after incineration, expressed as 
a percentage by mass of the total dry ash residue. 
 
2.7 
design temperature 
the temperature in the gas zone at which destruction of waste occurs. 
 
2.8 
hospital Waste  
material that is generated within a hospital and that has to be incinerated. 
 2.9 incineration capacity 
the quotient of the amount of hospital waste which is to be incinerated and the charging period (in kg/h) 
 
 EAST AFRICAN STANDARD PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTEAS 491:2008  
2 © EAS 2008 — All rights reserved 2.10 
primary burner 
an  auxiliary fuel burner installation the primary combustion chamber  to dry out and /or ignite the 
material to be burned 
 
2.11 
primary combustion zone  
the volume  in which  solid phase reactions occur (in m3) 
 
2.12 secondary burner 
an auxiliary fuel burner installed in a secondary combustion chamber  
2.13 
secondary combustion chamber  
the chamber where unburned combustibles from the primary combustion chamber are completely 
burned 
 
NOTE This chamber can be either part of the incinerator itself or a separate chamber. 
 2.14 
secondary combustion zone 
the volume in which gas phase reactions occur  (in m
3) 
 
3 Requirements 
 
3.1 Surface temperature  
 
When tested as described in 3.1 of EAS 492:2008, no part of the incinerator that has to be touched 
during normal operation shall have a surface temperature in excess of 50 °C (corrected to 20o C 
ambient temperature). No other external part of th e incinerator that can be touched during normal 
operation shall have a temperature in excess of 80 °C (corrected to 20 °C ambient temperature). 
 
3.2 Combustible matter in residues from incineration 
 When tested as described in clause 3.2 of EAS 492:2008, unburnt combustibles in the residue from 
incineration shall not exceed 5% by mass.  
3.3 Noise 
 
When tested as described in clause 3.3 of EAS 492:2008, the maximum level of noise at 1.0m from 
the prime source of sound shall not exceed 85 dB (A) sound pressure level. 
 
3.4 Emission of smoke  
 
When tested as described in clause 3.4 of EAS 492:2008, the emissions shall not exceed the limits 
given in table 1.   
Table 1 – Emission of smoke 
 
POLLUTANT LIMIT LEVEL 
Sulphur dioxide (SO 2) 
Carbon monoxide (CO) 
Hydrocarbons 1700mg/m3 
250mg/Nm3 
20mg/Nm3 
 PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTEAS 491:2008  
© EAS 2008 — All rights reserved  3  
3.5 Emission of grit and dust  
 When tested as described in clause 3.5 of EAS 492:2008 the emission of grit and dust shall not 
exceed the figures given in table 2. 
 
Table 2 — Grit and dust emissions 
 
Calculated heat release (see 3.6 of EAS 492:2008) Maximum emission  of grit and dust 
kW 
 
300 
600 
900 
1200 
1500 
3000 4500 g/h 
 
450 
900 
1350 
1600 
1800 
3000 4000 
 
3.6 Volumetric heat release rate 
 When calculated as described in clause 3.6 of EAS 492:2008, the volumetric heat release rate shall 
not exceed 350 kW/m
3. 
 
3.7 Gas residence time  
When calculated  as described in 3.7.1 of EAS 49 2:2008, a minimum gas residue time of 0.5s at 800 
°C shall be provided within the combustion zone in which oxidising conditions prevail (see 3.7.3 of 
EAS 492:2008). 
 
For an incinerator designed to operate with temperatures in excess of 800 °C, the criteria of time and 
temperature shall be adjusted by calculating the equivalent gas volume and residue time at 800 °C. 
 
3.8 Carbon monoxide concentration  
 
When  measured as described in 3.7.2 of EAS 492: 2008,  the carbon monoxide concentration at the 
outlet of the final combustion zone, and before dilution or cooling, shall be not more than 0.5% by 
volume (dry basis). The gas temperature shall not be less than 800 °C when the incineration is 
operated at design capacity. 
 3.9 Oxygen concentration  
When  measured as described in 3.7.3 of EAS 492:20 08, the oxygen concentration at the outlet of the 
final combustion zone, and before dilution or cooling, shall be not less than 10.0% by volume (dry 
basis).   
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