Method and apparatus for disposal of medical waste

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for simply disposing of medical waste from a medical institution without taking it out of the medical institution. The method comprises crushing medical waste in a closed container 1, exhausting air out of the container, sterilizing the air before releasing it into atmosphere, and filling the container 1 with a high-pressure steam having a temperature between 110°C and 150°C to sterilize the crushed medical waste 6. The apparatus is equipped with a pressure container 1 having at least one opening portion with an air-tight closing means 2, 3, a means of crushing medical waste 5, a means of supplying steam 13, 14, 15, a means 9 of exhausting air out of the pressure container and means 11 of sterilizing the exhausted air, the means of crushing medical waste 6 and the means of generating a steam 13, 14, 15 being positioned within the pressure container 1.

Description: The present invention relates to a method of disposing of contagious or infectious medical waste from medical activities by sterilizing it and decreasing the volume thereof, and an apparatus therefor. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of disposing of medical waste suitable for sterilizing contagious or infectious waste having the form of a pipe or a tube and decreasing the volume thereof, and an apparatus therefor. Waste from medical activities are often contaminated by contagious or infectious pathogenic organisms, and careless handling of such medical waste may cause diseases. Therefore medical waste, particularly contagious or infectious medical waste, is classified in a medical institution and it is collected, transported and incinerated by a specialized disposal expert. However, the number of such specialized disposal experts is not large. On the other hand, in recent years, so-called disposable medical instruments typified by a disposable syringe have been being increasingly used from the viewpoint of safety and medical activity efficiency. The amount of contagious or infectious waste from medical institutions thus increases year after year. The disposal of contagious or infectious waste thus involves high cost, and leads to an increase in the cost of medical activities. Further, the collection, transportation and disposal of medical waste by a disposal expert involve a risk of the medical waste being spread by an accident during any one of these activities. There is a method of monitoring the medical waste disposal by means of a manifest system. However, it cannot be said that this monitoring method is fully satisfactory concerning the final disposal. It has therefore been desired to develop a method and an apparatus for the reliable disposal of contagious or infectious medical waste within a medical institution (hereinafter referred to as "in-institution disposal") at low cost without any risk in transportation. For in-institution disposal, a variety of methods are known using crushing treatment, incineration, heat treatment and sterilization with a liquid chemical, and there are some proposed methods and apparatus for realizing in-institution disposal. However, these methods involve the following problems. Although it decreases the volume of medical waste before delivery to a disposal expert, the crushing treatment does not include sterilization. Therefore, the crushed waste is still contagious or infectious and special handling is required. Further, apparatus used for crushing medical waste may be contaminated with contagious or infectious pathogenic organisms, and special handling is therefore required. Incineration is most reliable from the viewpoint of sterilization. Since, however, most medical instruments are formed of plastic materials, the plastic materials decompose when incinerated to generate gases containing harmful substances. A secondary contamination problem therefore occurs, and a large apparatus is required for treating the exhaust gases. Further an incinerator requires a wide open space for it's installation and is therefore not suitable for use in hospitals in cities. The heat treatment which is a step before incineration is classified into dry heating and wet heating. In dry heating, a sterilization effect is obtained only when the heat treatment is carried out at a temperature of about 200°C or higher for 1 hour or more until the inside of the medical waste is fully heated. Further, most plastic materials generate harmful decomposition gases at the above temperature, and treatment of the decomposition gases is again a problem. In wet heating with high-pressure steam the sterilization is completed by exposing medical waste to the steam at 121°C for 20 minutes. At this temperature, plastic materials forming medical instruments are stable, and cause no secondary contamination problems. However, contagious or infectious waste medical instruments often take the form of a pipe or a tube. One end thereof is sometimes closed, or the form itself is very complicated, as for instance in a syringe cylinder, a dialysis instrument or a blood piping system. Therefore, high-pressure steam cannot fully penetrate the interiors of such instruments, and it cannot therefore be guaranteed that such instruments will be fully sterilized even if the wet heating is carried out at the required temperature for the recommended period of time. In sterilization using liquid chemicals, the chemicals themselves are harmful to the human body, and handling of the chemicals and disposal of the wasted chemicals may cause secondary contamination. Therefore, it requires additional cost to take safety measures and dispose of the liquid waste. Moreover, as with sterilization using high-pressure steam, the chemical does not fully reach the interiors of wasted materials having the form of a pipe or a tube, and it is therefore difficult to achieve complete sterilization. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for simply disposing of medical waste from a medical institution without taking it out of the medical institution and sterilizing contagious or infectious medical waste from the medical institution at a relatively low temperature for a short period of time whilst decreasing the volume of the medical waste, the method and apparatus being particularly suitable for in-institution disposal of contagious or infectious medical waste having the form of a pipe or a tube such as syringe cylinders, dialysis instruments and blood piping systems. Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of disposing of medical waste, which method comprises (i) crushing medical waste in a closed container so as to bring high pressure steam into direct contact with an interior of the medical waste; (ii) exhausting air out of the container and sterilizing the air before releasing it into the atmosphere; and (iii) filling the container with high-pressure steam having a temperature between 110°C and 150°C to sterilize simultaneously the crushed medical waste, an internal wall of the container and other device within the container, without taking the crushed medical waste out of the container, wherein the high pressure steam is generated within the container. The said other device is typically a means of crushing medical waste. The air which is exhausted may be sterilized by, for instance, filtering means, heating means or chemical oxidation means. The present invention also provides an apparatus for disposing of medical waste, which is equipped with a pressure container having at least one opening portion with an air-tight closing means, a means of crushing medical waste positioned within the container which is capable of crushing the medical waste in such a way as to bring steam into direct contact with an interior of the medical waste, a means of exhausting air out of the pressure container and a means of sterilizing the exhausted air, wherein the means of supplying steam is positioned within the pressure container and comprises a lower portion of the pressure container arranged to be filled with water and a heater provided with the lower portion of the pressure container. Typically the crushed medical waste is sterilized by high pressure steam for at least 10 minutes. In one aspect of the invention the apparatus is equipped with a pressure container which has an opening formed in an upper portion of the pressure container as an inlet for feeding medical waste and another opening formed in a lower portion of the pressure container as an outlet for discharging the crushed and sterilized medical waste. The pressure container may have a movable receiving pan for receiving crushed medical waste, the receiving pan being positioned above the lower portion of the pressure container and having a plurality of pores at least in a bottom thereof. The accompanying Figure is a schematic view showing an apparatus for disposing of medical waste, provided by the present invention. In the method of the present invention, the high-pressure steam is required to have a temperature between 110°C and 150°C. When the temperature is lower than 110°C, the sterilization treatment takes a long time to obtain a sufficient sterilization effect, which is not practical. When it is higher than 150°C, the pressure withstanding strength of the container is so high that the container cannot be produced at a reasonable cost. Further, when it is higher than 150°C, some of the wasted medical instruments start to decompose and secondary contamination may occur. When the high-pressure steam has a temperature in the above range, it is preferred to keep the container filled with the high-pressure steam for at least 10 minutes to obtain a sufficient sterilization effect. In the method of the present invention, the crushing treatment is carried out before the sterilization treatment with high-pressure steam for the following reason. When wasted medical instruments having the form of a pipe or a tube and having closed end(s) or a complicated form such as a syringe cylinder, a dialysis instrument, a blood piping system, and the like which are internally contaminated with blood are subjected to sterilization treatment with high-pressure steam, the steam cannot easily reach the interiors of these instruments and it cannot be guaranteed that sterilization by wet heating is completed even if they are treated at the above temperature for the above period of time. That is, waste medical instruments need to be crushed before sterilization treatment with high-pressure steam so that the interior portions contaminated with blood are exposed to the high-pressure steam. The crushing treatment is carried out before the sterilization treatment as described above. As a result, the internal wall of the container and the elements (e.g., blade, etc.) of the crushing means may be contagious or infectious, and they are also required to be sterilized together with the medical waste. For sterilizing these portions and crushed medical waste efficiently for a short period of time, therefore, they are sterilized with a high-pressure steam within the container without taking the crushed medical waste out of the container. Therefore, the crushing means and the steam supplying means are positioned within the container, and the container has a structure in which it can be closed airtight for filling with high-pressure steam. To fill the container with high-pressure steam, it is required to exhaust air out of the container. However, the air to be exhausted out of the container may contain contagious or infectious microorganisms spread by crushing medical waste. In the present invention, the air is therefore sterilized before releasing it into the atmosphere. The means of sterilizing the exhausted air may be at least one means selected from a filtering means, a heating means and a chemical oxidation means, positioned in a pipe connecting the pressure container and a sucking pump. In one aspect of the invention a deodoriser may be further placed between the means of sterilizing the exhausted air and the sucking pump. The apparatus for disposing of medical waste of the present invention permits the above-specified method to be achieved. The apparatus of the present invention is equipped with a pressure container having at least one opening portion with an airtight closing means, the opening potion being an inlet for medical waste and/or an outlet for crushed and sterilized medical waste, a means (e.g., a blade) of crushing medical waste, a means (e.g., a heater) of supplying steam, a means (e.g., a pump) of exhausting air out of the pressure container and a means of sterilizing the exhausted air, the means of crushing medical waste and the means of supplying a steam being positioned within the pressure container. The means of exhausting air may be composed of a pipe communicating with the pressure container and a pump arranged to suck air connected to the pipe. In one embodiment the pressure container further has a means capable of jetting water to cool the steam. The pressure container may optionally be further equipped with a means of introducing air to bring the pressure within the pressure container back to atmospheric pressure. Examples of the means of crushing medical waste include a crushing device equipped with a blade having the form of a mixer blade, a crushing device having the system of a ball mill, a crushing device for shearing between a monoaxially rotating blade and a fixed blade and a crushing device for shearing between biaxially rotating blades. The crushing means used in the present invention is required to be capable of crushing medical waste such that the interior thereof is fully sterilized in the sterilization with high-pressure steam even if the medical waste has the form of a pipe or a tube, has a closed end or has a complicated form. The crushing means is also required to be suitable for in-institution disposal without making much noise. It is required to be simple in mechanism and suitable for crushing within a closed container. It is required to be strong and durable in structure and easy in maintenance. It is further required not to take a long time to finish the crushing. In the apparatus of the present invention, the steam supplying means may be positioned outside the pressure container. In this case, the steam supplying means may be a device connected to the pressure container through, for instance, a pipe, and internally having a steam generating means such as a heater, or a device having a valve, through which externally generated steam can be introduced into the pressure container. In the method and apparatus provided by the present invention, contagious or infectious medical waste can be reliably sterilized at a relatively low temperature for a short period of time due to the use of a high-pressure steam sterilization method. Further, there is no risk of secondary contamination being caused by a decomposition gas generated by plastic materials which form medical instruments. Moreover, since medical waste is crushed before the high-pressure steam sterilization step, medical waste having the form of an end-closed pipe or tube or a complicated form can be crushed so that the steam reliably reaches the interiors of such medical waste in the high-pressure steam sterilization step. Further, the volume of medical waste can be decreased. Further, when the pressure container is filled with high-pressure steam, air which may be contaminated due to the crushing treatment within the container is sterilized before releasing it into the atmosphere. Therefore, there is no risk of contagious or infectious microorganisms contained in the air causing secondary contamination. The crushing of contagious or infectious medical waste and the high-pressure steam sterilization are carried out in the same pressure container. Therefore, the wall of the container and the other devices within the container which may be contaminated due to contact with contagious or infectious medical waste are sterilized together with the medical waste. As a result, when the pressure container is opened after the disposal, no contagious or infectious microorganisms are released, and the inside of the container is safe. Further, since the crushing and sterilization are carried out in the same container, the disposal process and apparatus are simplified, and the costs of manufacturing the apparatus and disposing of the medical waste can be reduced. After contagious or infectious medical waste is sterilized, the crushed medical waste, the internal wall of the container, the devices in the container and water remaining in the container have all been sterilized. Therefore, the sterilized crushed medical waste taken out of the container is no longer contagious or infectious and can be handled as ordinary industrial waste. As a result, the cost of the final disposal of the waste is far less expensive than the cost for the disposal of contagious or infectious medical waste. Further, it is possible to decrease the risk of contagious or infectious medical waste spreading into the atmosphere when it is collected, transported and disposed of. The present invention will be described further in the following examples with reference to the drawing. Example 1 Medical waste from medical activities is fed to a container 1 through an inlet 2 which is one opening of the container 1 formed so as to endure a high-pressure steam. The container 1 has an outlet 3 as another opening. These two openings are structured to be air-tightly closed for the introduction of a high-pressure steam into the container. The fed medical waste passes along a hopper 4 positioned within the container 1 and it is stacked on rotary blades 5 for crushing by biaxial rotary shearing. Then, the inlet 2 is closed to prevent the spread of the medical waste out of the container 1, and the rotary blades 5 are rotated with a motor (not shown) positioned outside the container 1, whereby the medical waste is crushed, and the resultant pieces 6 are stacked on a receiving pan 7 on a receiving bed 8. The above device for crushing by biaxial rotary shearing may be a device which has two rollers whose rotation axes are parallel or nearly parallel with each other, the rollers having blade(s) for shear fracture, and which shear-fractures or crushes waste between the two rollers being mutually engaged while being rotated. The crushing device of the present invention shall not be limited to this biaxial shear crushing device. The receiving pan 7 and the receiving bed 8 are formed of punching metal (porous plates) so that high-pressure steam can easily pass. The punching metal as a material therefor is one embodiment, and the receiving pan and the receiving bed may be formed of any suitable material. Then, a pump 9 positioned outside the container 1 and connected to the container 1 through a tubing is actuated to suck air from the interior of the container 1. A valve 10 positioned on a tubing as required is opened or closed to meet a purpose. The valve 10 is similarly opened or closed to meet purposes in processing steps to be carried out hereinafter, and its explanation is omitted. The sucked air is released into atmosphere through a sterilization filter 11 positioned on the tubing. As a result, the air which may contain contagious or infectious microorganisms in the container 1 does not cause secondary contamination. Although this Example uses a sterilization filter 11, the above sterilization treatment may be carried out by a variety of methods using filtering, heating, chemical oxidation, and the like. Numeral 12 indicates a deodorizer using, e.g., an activated carbon adsorption method. The placement of the deodorizer is optional. When air sucked from the interior of the container 1 has an unpleasant odor before or after the sterilization with a high-pressure steam, the deodorizer is placed to remove the odor from the air before releasing the air into atmosphere. When the sterilization filter is replaced with a sterilizer using heating, the air passing the sterilizer can be sterilized and deodorized at the same time. Water 14, which is introduced into the container 1 from an external water source (not shown) and whose level is controlled with a water controller 13, is heated with heater 15 to fill the container 1 with a high-pressure steam. For example, the high-pressure steam having a temperature of 121°C is maintained for 20 minutes, whereby the sterilization of the crushed waste, the internal wall of the container and other devices is finished. The temperature inside the container 1 is controlled with a temperature controller 16. After the sterilization treatment is finished, water is jetted out through a nozzle 17 positioned within the container to cool the container and crushed waste. External air is introduced into the container through an air filter 18 to bring the interior of the container into atmospheric pressure. The outlet 3 is opened, and the receiving pan 7 is taken out to discharge the sterilized crushed pieces 6. The water 14 in the container 1 is also discharged through a tubing. The container 1 is naturally manufactured so as to withstand the pressure of the high-pressure steam, while it is also provided with a safety valve 19 to cope with an abnormal increase in the pressure. In the apparatus of this Example, the above procedures form one cycle for disposing medical waste. Further, the following Example was carried out for examining whether the sterilization of contagious or infectious medical waste could be fully achieved according to the method and apparatus for disposing medical waste, provided by the present invention. Example 2 Bacterial spores were sealed in dialyzers used for dialysis of a patient having renal insufficiency, and three lots (each lot consisting of 20 dialyzers) were disposed of by the same apparatus as that described in Example 1 according to the same method as that described in Example 1. Each lot was sterilized with a high-pressure steam having the following temperature for a following period of time. Lot No. 1 2 3 Temperature (°C) 115 121 126 Time (minute) 30 20 15 The sterilization after the above disposal was determined by an aseptic test method according to japanese Pharmacopoeia, in which the sterilized crushed dialyzer pieces, discharged water and discharged air were respectively cultured in thioglycolic acid culture media at 37°C for 7 days and the resultant media were examined. As a result, no bacteria was detected in the sterilized crushed dialyzer pieces, discharged water and discharged air with regard to each lot. This result shows that medical waste having the form of a closed end pipe whose interior is contaminated with contagious or infectious blood such as a dialyzer can be reliably disposed of by the method and apparatus for disposing medical waste, provided by the present invention. Further, the volume of the treated dialyzers was decreased to about 1/2 of that of the dialyzers before the treatment.

Claims: A method of disposing of medical waste, which method comprises (i) crushing medical waste in a closed container so as to bring high-pressure steam into direct contact with an interior of the medical waste; (ii) exhausting air out of the container and sterilizing the air before releasing it into the atmosphere; and (iii) filling the container with high-pressure steam having a temperature between 110°C and 150°C to sterilize simultaneously the crushed medical waste, an internal wall of the container and other device within the container, without taking the crushed medical waste out of the container; characterised in that the high pressure steam is generated within the container. A method according to claim 1, wherein the crushed medical waste is sterilized by high-pressure steam for at least 10 minutes. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the said other device is a means of crushing medical waste. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the air which is exhausted is sterilized by at least one means selected from filtering means, heating means and chemical oxidation means. An apparatus for disposing of medical waste, which is equipped with a pressure container (1) having at least one opening portion with an air-tight closing means (2,3), a means of crushing medical waste (5) positioned within the pressure container, which is capable of crushing the medical waste (6) in such a way as to bring steam into direct contact with an interior of the medical waste, a means of supplying steam (13, 14, 15), a means (9) of exhausting air out of the pressure container and a means (11) of sterilizing the exhausted air, characterised in that the means of supplying steam is positioned within the pressure container and comprises a lower portion of the pressure container arranged to be filled with water (14) and a heater (15) provided with the lower portion of the pressure container. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the pressure container has an opening (2) formed in an upper portion of the pressure container as an inlet for feeding medical waste and another opening (3) formed in a lower portion of the pressure container as an outlet for discharging the crushed and sterilized medical waste. An apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the pressure container has a movable receiving pan (7) for receiving crushed medical waste, the receiving pan being positioned above the lower portion of the pressure container (1) and having a plurality of pores at least in a bottom thereof. An apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the means of exhausting air is composed of a pipe communicating with the pressure container and a pump arranged to suck air connected to the pipe. An apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the means of sterilizing the exhausted air is at least one means selected from a filtering means, a heating means and a chemical oxidation means, positioned in a pipe connecting the pressure container and a sucking pump. An apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein a deodorizer (12) is further placed between the means of sterilizing the exhausted air and the sucking pump. An apparatus according to any one of claim 5 to 10, wherein the pressure container further has a means (17) capable of jetting water to cool the steam. An apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 11, wherein the pressure container further has a means (18) of introducing air to bring the pressure within the pressure container back to atmospheric pressure.

Inventors: ASAOKA TOSHIRO, FUJIHIRO YASUTAKA, KOHMURA KISABURO, MICHINO MASAHIRO, NAKAMURA TAKASHI, OHYA AKIO, TANAKA MITSUYUKI, ASAOKA, TOSHIRO, FUJIHIRO, YASUTAKA, KOHMURA, KISABURO, MICHINO, MASAHIRO, NAKAMURA, TAKASHI, OHYA, AKIO, TANAKA, MITSUYUKI, Fujihiro, Yasutaka, c/o Sagamihara Works of Nippon, Michino, Masahiro, c/o Sagamihara Works of Nippon, Nakamura, Takashi, c/o Nippon Metal Ind. Co., Ltd., Tanaka, Mitsuyuki, c/o Sagamihara Works of Nippon
Applicants: NIPPON METAL IND, NISSEN CORP, NIPPON METAL INDUSTRY CO.,LTD., NISSEN CORPORATION
Application year: 1992
Main classification: A61L11
IPC codes: A61L11