Liquid purification or separation – Processes – Making an insoluble substance or accreting suspended...
Patent
1997-10-01
1999-08-31
Hruskoci, Peter A.
Liquid purification or separation
Processes
Making an insoluble substance or accreting suspended...
210721, 210728, 210730, 210732, 210737, 210738, 210764, 210769, 210202, 210206, 210208, 2102571, 210258, 422 1, 422 28, 588258, 604317, 604403, 604408, 604416, C02F 156
Patent
active
059450045
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to method and apparatus for treating waste liquids containing body fluids so as to prevent problems such as nosocomial infection due to such waste liquids containing body fluids discharged from patients under (surgical) operation or treatment, particularly those waste liquids containing blood or irrigation liquid used to irrigate the body cavity of such patient.
2. Discussion of the Background
Nosocomial infection currently at issue in Japan has rapidly become a serious problem with the medical progress in the last dozen of years. Infection to compromised patients and occupational infection to persons engaged in medical treatments are particularly problematic.
Although the nosocomial infection occurs in various ways, secondary infection from a waste liquid containing body fluids, particularly blood, an irrigation liquid (isotonic sodium chloride solution) used to irrigate the body cavity, or a like fluid, discharged from a patient under surgical operation or treatment (hereinafter termed "waste liquid" for simplicity) to surroundings including personnel engaged in medical treatments and other patients is a serious problem. In 1989 the Japanese Welfare Ministry issued "Guideline for disposal of medical wastes" as a measure to prevent the nosocomial infection. According to the Guideline, all bloods and blood-adhering matters should be regarded as infectious industrial waste and should be subjected to incineration disposal or entrusted to professionals of waste disposal after they have been sterilized or disinfected.
The waste liquid usually contains a body cavity irrigation liquid in a considerable amount. This imposes a great expense on hospitals for treating the waste liquid.
Various proposals have been made to overcome this situation.
Collecting bottles, for example, have conventionally been used as waste liquid treating containers. Such collecting bottles generally are relatively heavy and easy to break and, hence, dangerous to persons handling the bottles. In addition, there are required time and labor for disinfecting or sterilizing an infectious waste liquid before its disposal and for washing used bottles later. In view of this, containers of synthetic resin have become employed. Since such containers are less expensive and lighter than the collecting bottles and, in addition, are disposable, it becomes possible to dispose of collected waste liquids together with their containers. This eliminates the operations previously required to dispose of only waste liquids and wash the inside of bottles (refer to, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. SHO 51-48589).
However, the amount of waste liquids to be disposed of remains unvaried though the weight of the container is reduced by replacing a collecting bottle with a container of synthetic resin. Further, if one tries to incinerate a waste liquid as contained in the container using the incineration facility of a hospital, the waste liquid undesirably flows down below the incinerator with its infectiousness maintained. Thus, such incineration is difficult. After all, the process of adding an expensive microbicide to the waste liquid and draining the resultant to a sewerage system must be carried out.
In view of the fact that the greater part of the content in such container is moisture (isotonic sodium chloride solution and the like other than body fluids), a method has been employed such that a water-absorptive flocculant is provided in a container to cause the waste liquid to solidify (refer to, for example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. HEI 4-60713).
Although this method enables the incineration of waste liquid, substantial time and thermal energy are required to complete the incineration of the waste liquid because the thermal conductivity of the solidified waste liquid is low due to solidification. Further, not a few hospitals cannot use their incineration facilities for fear that smoke emitted by incineration should flow to residential are
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Murayama Koichi
Ohira Junichi
Toyoshima Satoru
Yamanaka Junichi
Daiken Iki Co., Ltd.
Hruskoci Peter A.
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