Optimal selection of cruise ship waste disposal ports

As cruise ships call at many ports and passengers come from all over the world, it is very easy to carry viruses on cruise ships. Under the control of the epidemic situation on board, the solid waste generated by them should be scientifically treated to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 pneumonia. Therefore, Reasonable selection of waste disposal ports and formulation of unloading plans are directly related to the resumption of cruise operations. This study considers the cost and risk of waste disposal, uses robust optimization to deal with waste volume, increases the scenarios of port service interruption due to epidemics and other reasons, and proposes a variety of emergency strategies. Finally, the relevant strategies are selected according to the decision-maker's preference for cost and risk;By solving the relevant examples, the optimal choice of the cruise ship waste disposal port under the epidemic situation is given, which verifies the validity and feasibility of the model. The research helps to improve the management of cruise waste during the post-epidemic period, and has practical value and guiding significance for the normal operation and development of the global cruise market. © 2023 SPIE.

Challenges faced in biomedical waste management by waste handlers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital: a qualitative study

Introduction : Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) saw an overhaul in the biomedical waste management (BMWM) practices. Waste handlers were at the brunt of these changes. If the challenges pertaining to BMWM at the ground level are better understood, more effective measures to overcome them can be formulated. Objectives: 1. To identify myths and concerns regarding BMWM in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. 2. To explore the challenges faced in BMWM amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 3.To explore opportunities and future perspectives of BMWM. Method: In-depth interviews were conducted among 17 purposively selected Class IV health care workers during August to November 2021 in a tertiary care institute in Mumbai. Data was reported using thematic analysis. Results: Three major themes - challenges and concerns faced by BMW handlers, enablers/motivators, opportunities and future practices were generated from the transcripts. Various challenges faced by waste handlers were- difficulties in segregation and transport of BMW, exhaustion from PPE usage and fear of acquiring and spreading COVID-19 from work, stigma faced from public, and handling COVID-19 deaths. Support from family and colleagues, incentives and a positive change in public perception enabled them to work. Forming redressal committees, addressing job security concerns and timely provision of good quality equipment can improve hospital waste management measures in the future. Conclusion: It is of utmost importance to address challenges faced by waste handlers in BMWM. Onus should also be on periodic training in BMWM.

Evaluation of animal biosafety webinar series for professionals working in animal facilities across Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic

Experimental research with animals can help the prevention, cure, and alleviation of human ailments. Animal research facilities are critical for scientific advancement, but they can also pose a higher risk than other biomedical laboratories. Zoonosis, allergic reactions, bites, cuts, and scratches by animals are all substantial concerns that can occur in animal facilities. Furthermore, human error and unexpected animal behavior pose a risk not just to humans, but also to the environment and the animals themselves. The majority of biosafety and biosecurity training programs focus on clinical and biomedical laboratories dealing with human safety factors, with little emphasis on animal biosafety. The current virtual training was designed to improve biosafety and biosecurity capabilities of animal laboratory personnel, researchers, and veterinarians from different regions of Pakistan. The results revealed that understanding was improved regarding triggers for risk assessment in addition to annual and regular reviews (56% to 69%), biosecurity (21% to 50%), decontamination (17% to 35%), safe handling of sharps (21% to 35%), Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) (17% to 40%), Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) usage by waste handlers (60.9% to 75%), waste management (56% to 85%), animal biosafety levels (40.57% to 45%), and good microbiological practices and procedures (17% to 35%). To bring human and animal laboratories up to the same level in terms of biosafety and biosecurity, it is critical to focus on areas that have been overlooked in the past. Training programs focusing on animal biosafety should be conducted more frequently to strengthen bio risk management systems in animal research facilities.Copyright © 2021

Optimal selection of cruise ship waste disposal ports

As cruise ships call at many ports and passengers come from all over the world, it is very easy to carry viruses on cruise ships. Under the control of the epidemic situation on board, the solid waste generated by them should be scientifically treated to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 pneumonia. Therefore, Reasonable selection of waste disposal ports and formulation of unloading plans are directly related to the resumption of cruise operations. This study considers the cost and risk of waste disposal, uses robust optimization to deal with waste volume, increases the scenarios of port service interruption due to epidemics and other reasons, and proposes a variety of emergency strategies. Finally, the relevant strategies are selected according to the decision-maker's preference for cost and risk;By solving the relevant examples, the optimal choice of the cruise ship waste disposal port under the epidemic situation is given, which verifies the validity and feasibility of the model. The research helps to improve the management of cruise waste during the post-epidemic period, and has practical value and guiding significance for the normal operation and development of the global cruise market. © 2023 SPIE.

Environmental hygiene in outdoor food markets in Africa: a scoping review

Outdoor food markets represent important locations where foodborne illnesses and other infectious diseases can spread. Countries in Africa face particular challenges given the importance of these markets in food supply and low rates of access to safely managed water and sanitation. We undertook a scoping review of evidence related to disease transmission in food markets in sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and identified 46 papers for data extraction and synthesis. Vendor behaviour or awareness was reported in the majority of papers and about half reported on market infrastructure. Fewer studies have been reported on regulatory environments or food contamination. Studies on water supply, sanitation and handwashing facilities focused on the presence of services and did not evaluate quality, thus conclusions cannot be drawn on service adequacy. Studies of vendor behaviour were primarily based on self-reporting and subject to bias. Most studies reported high levels of vendor awareness of the need for hygiene, but where observations were also conducted, these showed lower levels of behaviours in practice. Our findings suggest that there are limited studies on environmental hygiene in outdoor food markets and this is an area warranting further research, including into the quality of services and addressing methodological weaknesses.

A comparative study of waste management practices in pre-COVID and during-COVID scenarios: an overview of the hotel industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for the hotel industry, with rooms being converted into quarantine centres and leading to an increase in waste volume and composition. With frequent lockdowns and stringent guidelines by governments on social distancing, 60% of hotels converted 10% of their rooms into quarantine facilities, which drastically changed the composition of hotel waste (JLL, 2020). This waste may lead to environmental degradation if handled inappropriately. The primary objective of this study is to identify, compare and highlight the challenges faced in waste management practices in two different circumstances, namely pre-COVID and during-COVID, in the hotel industry. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire put to hoteliers in selected hotels in India. A total of 61 responses were recorded out of 100 respondents. Descriptive analysis indicated new practices in hotel housekeeping such as use of single-use PPE kits, arrangement of separate zones for disposing of medical waste and digitalization of services. Another interesting finding of the research is the aggravation of single-use plastic in the form of disposable crockery, cutlery and packaging of PPE kits. Lastly, the study showed an increase in operational costs and highlighted innovative procedures in existing waste management disposal practices and suggested new practices that will be of great significance for dealing with similar episodes in the future.

Global face mask pollution: threats to the environment and wildlife, and potential solutions.

Face masks are an indispensable low-cost public healthcare necessity for containing viral transmission. After the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) became a pandemic, there was an unprecedented demand for, and subsequent increase in face mask production and use, leading to global ecological challenges, including excessive resource consumption and significant environmental pollution. Here, we review the global demand volume for face masks and the associated energy consumption and pollution potential throughout their life cycle. First, the production and distribution processes consume petroleum-based raw materials and other energy sources and release greenhouse gases. Second, most methods of mask waste disposal result in secondary microplastic pollution and the release of toxic gases and organic substances. Third, face masks discarded in outdoor environments represent a new plastic pollutant and pose significant challenges to the environment and wildlife in various ecosystems. Therefore, the long-term impacts on environmental and wildlife health aspects related to the production, use, and disposal of face masks should be considered and urgently investigated. Here, we propose five reasonable countermeasures to alleviate these global-scale ecological crises induced by mask use during and following the COVID-19 pandemic era: increasing public awareness; improving mask waste management; innovating waste disposal methods; developing biodegradable masks; and formulating relevant policies and regulations. Implementation of these measures will help address the pollution caused by face masks.

Co-Combustion Investigation of Wood Pellets Blended with FFP2 Masks: Analysis of the Ash Melting Temperature

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a period of high consumption of protective masks and an increase in their waste. Therefore, it was necessary to look at possibilities for their disposal. This article is focused on the disposal of FFP2 masks in the form of pellets blended with sawdust. Further, their ash melting behavior was observed. The method of ash preparation can impact the resulting values of melting temperatures. Therefore, this article investigates the resulting values of ash melting temperatures determined during different ash preparations, such as temperatures (550 °C and 815 °C) and ash size (non-sifted, smaller than 50 µm and 100 µm). All measured deformation temperatures were higher than 1100 °C and even higher than 1200 °C for some samples. Moreover, the presence of FFP2 masks in pellets only insignificantly affected the values of melting temperatures compared to pure wood pellets. The measured values also showed that increasing the temperature of ash preparation from 550 to 815 °C can increase the resulting values of melting temperature. The most significant proportion of the fraction size on the resulting melting temperatures was observed for beech with 5% and 10% of masks at an ash temperature of 550 °C and for spruce with 10% of masks at an ash temperature of 815 °C. © 2023 by the authors.

Emergency response scheme selection with T-spherical hesitant probabilistic fuzzy TODIM-TPZSG approach

This paper aims to investigate an innovative framework to handle emergency response scheme selection (ERSS) issues by integrating TODIM and TPZSG (two-person zero-sum game) methods under novel T-spherical hesitant probabilistic fuzzy set (T-SHPFS) environments. First, T-SHPFS is defined as an extension of the existing tools, which can depict the complex assessment information including several possible values of the various membership functions' degrees and the associated statistical uncertainty information. Concomitantly, T-SHPFS's normalization method, comparison laws, operation rules, cross-entropy measure and Hausdorff distance are explored. Then, an objective attribute weight determining model is constructed, considering the credibility of T-SHPF evaluations and the divergence degrees between attribute assessments simultaneously. Next, an integrated TODIM-TPZSG decision-making approach is developed to select the most desirable emergency response scheme. Finally, an illustrative example concerning the selection of the best medical waste disposal method during the COVID-19 epidemic is conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed TODIM-TPZSG method. Sensitivity analysis and comparisons between the TODIM-TPZSG and other representative methods are also provided to demonstrate the superiorities of the proposed method. The results reveal that the developed T-SHPFSs give DMs more assessment freedom;the proposed TODIM-TPZSG approach considers the decision makers' psychological behaviors;the ranking results of the proposed method can reflect the specific divergence degrees among the alternatives;and the needed computation burden and computational complexity are low and less affected by the number of alternatives and criteria than most current ERSS methods. © 2023

Decision-Making in Mask Disposal Techniques Using Soft Set Theory

In 2003, Maji, Biswas, and Roy developed a method for applying soft set theory to a decision-making problem using Pawlak's rough set approach. Further, research proved that Maji's soft set reductions were inaccurate in 2005, leading to the development of a new method by Chen et al. This article applies soft theory to waste management and disposal decision-making problems. The excessive masks discarded during the COVID-19 era, in particular, must be managed effectively, and the current paper provides a method for better decision-making of the same. The algorithms used are first to compute the reductions and then the reduct soft set is used to choose the ideal objects for decision problems, and then the choice value is calculated. Predefined parameters are sometimes not enough to make precise decisions to solve general or real-time issues. Therefore, additional parameters are added into the existing set, either as a new parameter or generated by the handling of existing ones. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.

Interpretation of guidelines for medical observation management of close contacts with COVID-19 cases part 3: home-based medical observation

Effectively blocking the transmission route of coronavirus and protecting the susceptible population play significant roles in the control of COVID-19 pandemic. Strengthening home-based medical observation is one of the key points in preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus in families and communities. Therefore, in order to meet the needs for COVID-19 prevention and control in Beijing, a group of experts organized by Beijing Association of Preventive Medicine developed the Guidelines for medical observation management of close contacts with COVID-19 cases Part 3: home-based medical observation(T/BPMA007.3-2020), which offers the specific provisions for close contacts of COVID-19 cases who need home-based medical observation as well as home environmental condition, prevention and control requirements, waste disposal, disinfection, community prevention and control work requirements, basic requirements for training and education and management guidelines.It provides standard support for home-based medical observation of close contacts with COVID-19 cases.

A review of plastic pollution and their treatment technology: A circular economy platform by thermochemical pathway

The rapid expansion of plastic manufacturing industries in last several decades has brought serious concerns over the environmental impacts of plastic wastes. Recent outbreak of Covid-19 drastically increased production, use, and disposal of plastic products. Current management strategies for wasted plastics still rely on landfill and incineration that continue to exacerbate plastic pollution and carbon emissions. Many countries have put forward multifaceted administrative efforts to reduce plastic wastes, but the annual global generation of plastic wastes is still increasing. In techno-society, researchers have been exploring more effective plastic wastes treatment technologies to alleviate environmental impacts of plastic wastes. Such efforts entailed several technical options that can potentially contribute to establishing a circular economy for plastics. Thermochemical process is a prominent example of such techniques. This review presents an overview of the issue of plastic pollution, covering topics including global plastic production, environmental impacts, and toxicity. In addition, the global administrative efforts aimed at reducing plastic pollution are discussed, as well as detection and treatment strategies to establish a circular economy in plastic management. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

Recycling of Plastic Polymer: Reinforcement of Building Material Using Polymer Plastics of Used COVID-19 Syringes

Plastic waste causes severe environmental impacts worldwide and threatens the lives of all creatures. In the medical field, most of the equipment, especially personal protective equipment (PPE), is made from single-use plastic. During COVID-19, the usage of PPE has increased, and is disposed of in landfills after being used once. Worldwide, millions of tons of waste syringes are generated from COVID-19 vaccination. A practical alternative to utilizing this waste is recycling it to reinforce building materials. This research introduces an approach to using COVID-19 syringe plastic waste to reinforce building material as composite concrete. Reinforced fiber polymer (FRP) concrete materials were used to mold cylindrical specimens, which underwent mechanical tests for mechanical properties. This study used four compositions with 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% of FRP to create cylindrical samples for optimum results. Sequential mechanical tests were carried out on the created samples. These specimens were cured for a long period to obtain water absorption capability. After several investigations, the highest tensile and compressive strengths, approximately 2.0 MPa and 10.5 MPa, were found for the 5% FRP composition samples. From the curing test, the lowest water absorbability of around 5% was found for the 5% FRP composition samples.

A Smart Bin for Disposal of Infectious Medical Waste

Uncollected filled bins during the COVID pandemic in hospitals and at home are a common issue these days. This becomes a source of community spread of COVID-19. Here the key issue is unsanitary waste management, which can be controlled by an efficient IoT-based smart bin system to present garbage level collected in bins in 'COVID' wards through the use of ultrasonic sensor which stops rubbish from overflowing from smart bins and a gas sensor to determine if any dangerous gases are emitted. The virus and pathogens are neutralized with the help of ultraviolet rays. A rechargeable battery that runs on a solar Piezo hybrid power charges the system. As a result, the bin tends to minimize the potential of infectious illness transmitted to healthcare professionals. Smart bins will prevent overflowing waste from the bins and also stop unsanitary conditions from prevailing nearby. It is a straightforward yet incredibly valuable concept. © 2023 IEEE.

Introduction: Domestication of War

This Special Section broadens and qualifies the terms through which the relationship between home and militarization has been understood. We do this by joining a vibrant and growing field of transdisciplinary scholars who address the militarization of everyday life by attending to domesticity and practices of domestication. We grapple with how the home naturalizes and becomes a catalyst for militarism: How do ordinary and domestic objects, technologies, spaces, and infrastructures make violence feel at home in the world? We are concerned with the domestic life of militarization as oikos: the household, habitat, and milieu of violent material relationships that are both ongoing and latent. The domestic is not just a discrete, private space;it also extends into public spaces like neighborhoods, local businesses, waste disposal infrastructures, hospices, and crop fields. Developed within an editorial process rooted in a feminist ethos, the articles collected here provide critical and alternative methodologies and disciplinary forms for considering militarism's aesthetics, affects, and modes of appearance. This collection resists conventional spatialities, temporalities, and incarnations of war while calling attention to the obscuring of violence through practices of care and marketing operations.

Sustainable assessment of plastic and mixed waste disposal problem during COVID-19 pandemic: an integrated multi-criteria decision-making approach.

This article focuses on India's inorganic solid waste disposal problem, with a particular emphasis on plastic and mixed waste. It aims to identify the current COVID-19 pandemic situation as well as provide a suitable disposal technique for wastes that are specifically related to municipal solid waste management. We propose an integrated approach to disposing of paper and plastic and mixed wastes in an interval-valued q-rung orthopair fuzzy (IVq-ROF) environment for this problem. In this case, we use the FUCOM method to calculate the weight values of the criteria and the MABAC method to rank the alternatives based on the chosen criteria. To confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method, a numerical illustration is provided, and validation of the suggested method is also shown.

Solid Waste Management in Peru's Cities: A Clustering Approach for an Andean District

There is a great deficiency in the collection and disposal of solid waste, with a considerable amount disposed of in dumps instead of in landfills. In this sense, the objective of this research is to propose a solid waste mitigation plan through recovery in the District of Santa Rosa, Ayacucho. For this, a solid waste characterization plan was executed in eight days, and through ANOVA it was shown that there is a significant difference in means between business pairs except between a bakery and a hotel. Through clustering, zones A and B are highly correlated, reflecting that the amount of organic waste was greater than inorganic waste. In the organic waste valorization plan, the results through ANOVA indicate a significant difference for monthly and daily averages, and the clustering shows the different behavior of each month, drawing attention to August, concluding that the valorization pilot plan is viable due to the contribution of a large amount of organic solid waste to the valorization plant.

Environmental pollution from COVID-19 generated wastes result in widespread recycling of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Wastes generated in the face of COVID-19 pose enormous risks to the environment and heath. Environmental pollution from deficiencies in disposal patterns of hospital wastes may result in widespread recycling of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This paper aimed at creating awareness of the impact of inaptly disposed medical wastes on the environment;produced from managing COVID-19 leading to SARS-CoV-2 widespread recycling. Assemblage of recent and suitable literatures relating to keywords like waste disposal, medical wastes, coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 and environmental pollution were revised/reviewed. Data suggest that factors like reduced awareness, negligence, ignorance, lack of polices among others are the chief influences contributing to improper medical wastes collection, disposal and management leading to environmental hazards. Therefore, improper disposal of medical wastes can lead to toxic environmental pollution thereby recycling SARS-CoV-2 in the face of COVID-19 management. Hence, incineration after prior disinfection remains the best management option in the prevailing coronavirus era. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Factors Affecting the Potential of Solid Waste Management of Network Partners in the Epidemic Control Area for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Mae Sot, Thailand

This investigation examines the potential, and the factors affecting the potential of network partners to manage solid waste in the epidemic control area for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study area was Mae Sot Municipality in Tak Province, Northern Thailand, which consists of twenty communities. This is an especially pressing study topic given the dearth of literature on solid waste management in Thailand during a pandemic. The sample group was purposively selected, and was composed of household representatives living within the coronavirus epidemic control area. Data was gathered using a quantitative research method. A questionnaire was presented to 400 household representatives. Data results led to the development of an equation to determine waste management potential: Logit(y) = 0.435 - 0.086(X1) - 0.203(X2) - 0.110(X3) + 0.086(X4) + 0.046(X5) - 0.056(X6) + 0.157(X7) + 0.132(X8) + 0.214(X9) - 0.212(X10) - 0.087(X11) + 0.022(X12). Factors affecting public participation in waste management of network partners in epidemic control areas can be written as a predictive equation: Logit(y) = -0.179 + 0.092(PAR1) + 0.177(PAR2) - 0.189(PAR3) + 0.008(PAR4). Potential factors affecting the waste management of network partners in epidemic control areas can be written as follows: Logit(y) = -0.724 + 0.220(POT1) + 0.045(POT2) - 0.234(POT3) + 0.185(POT4). Solid waste management models must be suitable for the context and current situation in the local community. This includes consideration of local participation and the impact on all stakeholders in the area. The key action is to minimize the amount of solid waste before it reaches the disposal stage by focusing on participation from all sectors. © 2022 Common Ground Research Networks. All rights reserved.