A staff member ties up a bag containing medical waste at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University in southwest China's Chongqing, Feb. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)
Medical waste from hospitals that are treating patients infected with the novel coronavirus in central China's Hubei has been burned in cement kilns as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the disease.
WUHAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Medical waste from hospitals that are fighting the novel coronavirus epidemic in central China's Hubei Province has been burned in cement kilns as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the disease.
At about 7 p.m. Monday, a total of 248 buckets of such medical waste, weighing over four tonnes, were transported to a cement company in Yangxin County for hazard-free disposal.
The medical waste, collected from COVID-19 designated hospitals in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, was disinfected before entering the company's large cement kiln.
Wang Jiajun, manager of Huaxin cement company, said bags of medical waste would be disintegrated and gasified immediately in the precalciner with a temperature of about 1,150 degrees Celsius.
The remaining waste would continue to be burned in the rotary kiln at a temperature of about 1,400 degrees Celsius. All the waste would eventually be turned into cement after thorough burning.
The high temperature, strong alkaline and high turbulent burning environment prevents the production of dioxins throughout the process.
Wang said the cement company has disposed of 55 tonnes of medical waste for COVID-19 designated hospitals in Hubei.
The company also dispatched four container dump trucks that are fully enclosed, leak-proof and equipped with GPS positioning to transport the medical waste around the clock. ■
