Evaluate the types and amount of genotoxic waste in Tehran University of Medical Science’s hospitals

PURPOSE: Genotoxic wastes are one type of hospital wastes that are extremely dangerous and may cause cell mutation or cancer and their disposal should be taken seriously. Cytotoxic drugs are main component of these wastes. The purpose of this study was to determine the types and quantities of genotoxic wastes in hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences and evaluation of genotoxic waste management index. METHODS: For this purpose, a questionnaire was used to collect data. Each question was scored according to compliance or non-compliance with the law, and genotoxic hospital waste management index was calculated for each hospital. RESULTS: Various parameters including waste generation rate, segregation, collection, transportation, storage, disposal and the hygiene of personnel were evaluated. The results showed that 60% of hospitals ranked medium, 27% ranked poor and 13% ranked as very poor according to this index. CONCLUSIONS: Since the condition of genotoxic waste management in this study was ranked as medium, therefore some steps of hospital waste management system require improvement.