ABSTRACT
RESUMO Os resíduos de serviços de saúde (RSS) são todos aqueles resíduos gerados nos serviços que prestam atendimento à saúde humana ou animal. Os RSS são classificados em cinco grupos (Grupo A, Grupo B, Grupo C, Grupo D e Grupo E), dos quais uma parcela apresenta periculosidade. A legislação brasileira recomenda que os resíduos pertencentes ao Grupo D sejam reciclados. Contudo, com base na má segregação existente, o encaminhamento desses materiais representa riscos aos profissionais que manejam os resíduos intra e extraestabelecimentos de saúde, incluindo os trabalhadores que atuam junto às cooperativas de triagem de materiais recicláveis. Nesse contexto, este trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a presença de RSS destinados inadequadamente às cooperativas de triagem de materiais recicláveis de um município da zona Sul do Rio Grande do Sul. Para tanto, foi realizada uma caracterização quali-quantitativa dos RSS incidentes nas cinco cooperativas do município durante o período de quatro semanas. A partir dos resultados obtidos, verificou-se a presença de RSS no programa de coleta seletiva (PCS) municipal e, também, que a quantidade incidente varia conforme a cooperativa estudada e a semana avaliada. Ao final das caracterizações, foram quantificados 36,23 kg de RSS entre todas as cooperativas. Tais resultados indicam falhas na segregação e na destinação de RSS, seja pela população e/ou pelos estabelecimentos de saúde, além de evidenciarem a fragilidade existente no PCS do município. À vista disso, torna-se necessária a implementação de políticas públicas, tanto educativas quanto de fiscalização, que sejam capazes de assegurar maior segurança no âmbito de trabalho das cooperativas de triagem de materiais recicláveis.
ABSTRACT Healthcare waste (HCW) is all the waste generated by human or animal health care activities. HCW is classified into five groups, of which a portion presents hazardousness. Brazilian legislation recommends that waste belonging to Group D be recycled. However, based on the poor existing waste segregation, the forwarding of these materials presents risks to the professionals who handle them inside and out of health care facilities, including the workers within recyclable material waste picker cooperatives. In such a context, this study aimed to investigate the presence of HCW inappropriately sent to waste pickers cooperatives of a municipality in the south of Rio Grande do Sul. To this end, a qualitative and quantitative characterization of HCW incidence in the five cooperatives of the municipality was performed during the period of four weeks. From the results obtained, it was possible to verify the presence of HCW in the municipal selective waste collection program and that HCW quantities vary according to the waste pickers cooperative studied and the week being evaluated. At the end of the characterizations, 36.23 kg of HCW were quantified amongst all the cooperatives. Such results indicate flaws in HCW segregation and destination, either by the population and/or by health care facilities, in addition to showing the fragility in the municipality's selective waste collection program. In view of this, it is necessary to implement public policies, both educational and supervisory, that can ensure greater safety in the work environment of recyclable material waste picker cooperatives.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT The need for cleaner sources of energy has stirred research into utilising alternate fuel sources with favourable emission and sustainability such as biodiesel. However, there are technical constraints that hinder the widespread use of some of the low cost raw materials such as pork fatty wastes. Currently available technology permits the use of lipolytic microorganisms to sustainably produce energy from fat sources; and several microorganisms and their metabolites are being investigated as potential energy sources. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterise the process of Staphylococcus xylosus mediated fermentation of pork fatty waste. We also wanted to explore the possibility of fermentation effecting a modification in the lipid carbon chain to reduce its melting point and thereby act directly on one of the main technical barriers to obtaining biodiesel from this abundant source of lipids. Pork fatty waste was obtained from slaughterhouses in southern Brazil during evisceration of the carcasses and the kidney casing of slaughtered animals was used as feedstock. Fermentation was performed in BHI broth with different concentrations of fatty waste and for different time periods which enabled evaluation of the effect of fermentation time on the melting point of swine fat. The lowest melting point was observed around 46 °C, indicating that these chemical and biological reactions can occur under milder conditions, and that such pre-treatment may further facilitate production of biodiesel from fatty animal waste.