Impact of Hospital Waste from the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital on the Environment

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the impact of hospital wastes indiscriminately dumped at exposed dumpsites within the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Ten random samples (100g each) were withdrawn from a depth of 0–15 cm from each sampling site for soil analysis and settling plate technique was used for microbial air quality assessment. The Microbiological assessment of the dumpsites revealed an array of microorganisms viz; Baccilus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Salmonella sp., Proteus sp. Escherichia coli, Trichophyton sp., Scopulariopsis sp.  Candida albicans,  Fusarium sp., Mucor sp. and Cladosporium sp. and the microbial population dynamics reveals that the bacterial and fungal counts where more abundant on hospital dumpsites when compared to a pristine soil,  as was the heavy metals levels. The air quality assessment of the dump site area reveals that most of the isolated pathogens from the soil analysis could also be airborne. This study has shown that improper dumping of hospital waste impacts deleteriously on the environment and measures must be put in place for proper management to avert any adverse health impact.