Estado atual e propostas de melhorias no gerenciamento em resíduos de glutaraldeído, xileno e formaldeído em um hospital escola e em um laboratório universitário de anatomia

Abstract

The present work aims to contribute to finding solutions concerning the management of chemical waste in universities, research institutions and hospitals. These institutions act, or at least should act as models of policies for environmental preservation and prevention of health risks, supported in the current regulations, contributing to the formation of citizens committed to environmental health and quality of life. The main objective of the present work was propose alternatives for the current chemical waste management system, particularly the compounds glutaraldehyde, xylene and formaldehyde after use, in a higher education institution and in a hospital school, in order to support decision-making as to minimize the risks to human and environmental health from the use and disposal of the same. The first step of the study involved a survey of chemical waste generated in the hospital school, especially xylene and glutaraldehyde, and in the university laboratory of anatomy, especially formaldehyde in use, quantifying them and identifying the generation site, and the process and the treatment currently applied to each one of these residues, through local direct observations and survey information from the Environmental Sanitation Institute of the Caxias do Sul University. The next step was the characterization compounds glutaraldehyde, xylene and formaldehyde as the purity (compared to standard substances) in order to analyze the degradation by use and the need ou not of disposal. For this purpose were collected 8 monthly samples of glutaraldehyde and xylene, after use in the hospital school, and formaldehyde in the university laboratory of anatomy. Were present two proposals: a review of the current method of disposal of the compounds glutaraldehyde, xylene and formaldehyde and the replacement thereof by other, smaller environmental impact and health, analyzing advantages and disadvantages of proposals, based on the literature, studies and practices carried out by other institutions. The chromatographic analyzes showed that the compounds glutaraldeyde and xylene have very purity (only 9.19 and 1.52 % of degradation, respectively) and can be reused by the institution, while formaldehyde degradation was high (59.38 %). The proposed alternatives prove to be very advantageous, according to the results obtained in the present study. The recycling of the compounds evaluated, in turn, implies directly in reducing the volume of toxic and hazardous materials that the institution sends to the final disposal.