HOSPITAL WASTE, A WORLD OF RISKS

The environmental aspects associated with the medical-assistance activity indicate that hospitals cause environmental impacts that create risks for human health and the environment. Research on the efficient and adequate management of hospital waste from the Dr. Américo Babo Hospital (Puerto Ordaz, Bolivar-Venezuela State) allowed for a situational diagnosis of the environmental conditions of the hospital and its waste management, which would produce a negative environmental impact at the local level. It was shown that the management of hospital waste generated in this hospital contravenes the Standards for the Classification and Management of Waste in Health Facilities (Official Gazette No. 2,218, 27/04/92) and the WHO Manual of Procedures for the Integrated Management of Waste Generated in Health and Related Facilities (2011). As a result, an Environmental Management Plan for hospital waste was designed, complying with current hospital legal regulations on medical-assistance, administrative and environmental matters implemented by this health institution.