Risks of water on healthcare construction Essay

2. Risks of Water on healthcare construction
Hospital wastewater is a key source of the pollution which local wastewater treatment plants are often ill-equipped to handle. In addition, clean potable water is necessary in order for hospitals to safeguard patients' health. As such, it is vital that hospitals keep their potable water supply safe and treat their wastewater before it is discharged. It is necessary for every healthcare project in developing cost-effective ways to manage and treat the water and wastewater. This will help you to have consistently high potable water quality, benefitting patients' health. It will also help you in protecting the environment.
Minimizing the health risks in potable water
Pathogens such as Legionella, norovirus and cryptosporidium in potable water can pose a risk to the health of hospital patients as they are more susceptible to even low exposure to pathogens. For this reason, high-quality potable water is essential. In order to keep potable water in hospitals safe, health risk assessments of the water supply and efficient water quality control technologies are vital.
We can help hospitals identify critical pathogens in their potable water network and ensure consistent high-quality potable water. In cooperation with different technology suppliers, we use an online sensor system that monitors potable water quality. Our monitoring system can send alerts to users via SMS, enabling hospitals to take necessary actions immediately. The same tool, which includes optical spectra measurement, can also be used to control effluent quality after wastewater treatment.
3. Risks of Soil on healthcare construction
Twenty-four (24) hospital wastes samples taken from different hospitals waste dumpsites on its surrounding soil was examined. The counts of microorganisms in hospital dumpsite soil include the following
aerobic heterotrophic counts from 4.2 x 10^5 to 1.6 x 10^10
anaerobic heterotrophic counts from 1.0 x 10^5 to 1.6 x 10^9
while fungi count from 0 to 6.9 x 10^6.
"Hospital wastes" refers to all waste, biological or non-biological from hospitals, that is discarded and not intended for further use (USEPA, 1989) and these include pathological, infectious, hazardous chemicals, radioactive wastes, stock cultures, blood and blood products, animal carcasses, pharmaceutical wastes, pressurized containers, batteries, plastics, low level radioactive wastes, disposable needles, syringes, scalpels and other sharp items. These are in addition to food wastes, clinical bandages, gauze, cotton, cotton and other miscellaneous wastes. Other types of waste include toxic chemicals, cytotoxic drugs, flammable and radio-active wastes that can often be considered infectious (Caltivelli, 1990).
The pathogens present in the wastes can leach out and contaminate ground water and surface water. Harmful Chemicals present in biomedical waste such as heavy metals can also cause water pollution poor land filling technology may cause water pollution in the form of leachates. Excess nutrient leachate such as nitrates and phosphates from landfills can cause a phenomenon called eutrophication.
The aim and objectives of the study are to ascertain the effect of hospital solid wastes on the surrounding soil at the dumpsites and to isolate, identify and characterize the microbial population in the wastes.