Toxic Waste Treatment

A number of training courses and workshops have been held by our University on the management of hazardous laboratory wastes and their treatment methods. These courses target the heads of departments and responsible laboratory officials in the concerned colleges in particular. A number of employees with expertise and competence in the field of hazardous wastes management of the Ministry of Health in the Governorate have been hosted to scientifically enrich the workshops.

The procedures followed by our University for the disposal of hazardous and toxic biological and chemical wastes and discharges include the following:   

1. Biological Wastes:

     A- The culture media for the growth of pathogenic bacteria, whether in dishes or culture tubes, should be destroyed using a wet thermal sterilizer (Autoclave) at a temperature of 121 Celsius and a pressure of 4.5 bar for a period of 20 minutes.  All workers and laboratory officials have been trained on the procedures for destroying these devices in the laboratories in a special destruction rooms prepared for this purpose.

B – As for biological wastes generated in larger quantities, including blood bags or medical wastes, paper and tissues, cotton and remains of laboratory animals for experiments and others generated in most of the relevant colleges, these wastes are collected in special bags to be later treated in special biological incinerators in a previously prepared schedule in two stages; the first at a temperature of 850 Celsius, and the second stage at a temperature of 12000 Celsius through an electronic control panel, so that the final product of these wastes becomes water vapor and carbon dioxide gas within the environmentally permissible limits in accordance with national laws and regulations.  

Chemical Wastes:

A- Small quantities of liquid chemical wastes generated in the laboratory are treated by neutralizing them with special acids and alkaline to reach the neutrality state (PH7) and disposed of as municipal wastes. As for the solid wastes, they are isolated in plastic or glass containers and marked with identification labels including the name of the waste, the date of its generation and the laboratory where it was generated and the person in charge. These wastes will then be treated according to the instructions for the destruction and final safe disposal of chemical wastes according to references of scientific laboratories locally approved such as:

·         Handbook on Chemical and Biological Waste Management

·         Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide

Or by relying on the official reference letters received by the University from the CBRN in the Research and Development Department of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stipulating the procedures used to treat and destroy chemicals generated in educational laboratories. Caustic soda or sodium hypochlorite solutions are usually used with certain concentrations according to the substance to be destroyed. These instructions normally pertain to the treatment and destruction of a specific chemical substance with precise work steps.

B- As for chemical wastes generated in large quantities (if generated), these are collected in special containers and stored in special rooms with controlled ventilation. Then, the Directorate for the Treatment and Destruction of Chemical, Biological and Military Hazardous Wastes of the Ministry of Science and Integrated Technology is communicated for coordination with the specialized team to receive, transfer and destroy  these materials according to the instructions of the Iraqi Cabinet of Ministers in this regard for the year 2012. All state institutions that produce hazardous wastes are obligated to deal with the above Directorate for the safe disposal of these wastes according to the received ministerial instructions and circulations.