COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HOSPITAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CALABAR METROPOLIS AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Healthcare Waste (HCW) constitutes a special category of waste because they contain potentially harmful materials. The problem of how to manage HCW has become one of critical concerns in developing countries. A cross sectional descriptive study of Medical Waste Management (MWM) practice and their implication to health and environment was carried out between August and September 2012 in Calabar metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria with the aim of assessing the current practices and commitment to sustainable HCW management in three (1 tertiary, 1 General and 1 Private) hospitals ranging in capacity from 30 to 500 beds. The study approach involved the estimation of the quantity of HCW generated, evaluation of the waste segregation practices and determination of the knowledge of healthcare workers regarding HCW management. Daily waste inventory of each ward was carried out. An evaluation of the status of the waste management practice in the health facility was carried out using the following criteria: waste management (responsibility, segregation, storage and packaging); waste transport; waste recycling and reuse; waste treatment and final disposal. The result obtained from the study showed wastes generation at the rate of 1.31, 1.16 and 0.78 kg/day/patient for large, medium and small sized hospitals, respectively. Comparing the results gotten from the tertiary hospital and results gotten from developed countries, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used which showed a less non-significant value. Out of the 189 people that participated in the survey of medical waste management, 19% of the people were highly concerned. 38% of the people were slightly concerned and 33% of them were neutral in their approach. The remaining people were not at all concerned with the MWM. Profession and age seemed to have an effect on the resul

EFFECT OF DISINFECTANTS ON AEROBIC SEWAGE DEGRADATION USING DETTOL AND IZAL AS CASE STUDY

Disinfection is considered to be the primary mechanism for the inactivation/destruction of pathogenic organisms to prevent the spread of diseases and of which some of the organisms maybe needed for degradation as occurring in septic tank. This work investigated the effects of disinfectants on aerobic sewage degradation using Dettol and Izal as case study. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Fecal coliform were used to determine the effectiveness of the two disinfectants. Sewage for analysis were collected from the University of Nigeria Nsukka treatment plant for laboratory analysis. Five 4 Litres containing sewage having different dose in ml of the two disinfectants (Dettol and Izal) of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 with one control were established.Samples for analysis were obtained for 4 weeks for each disinfectants having interval of 3 days. Short and Long term effects of the disinfectants were studied and the results were analyzed using Turkey-Kramer multiple comparison test. The pattern of changes reflecting the effect of the respective disinfectants on faecal colony of coliform shows the pattern for Izal is similar to that of Dettol, regression coefficient were the same. Maximum effects were observed at concentrations 1.5 ml for either Izal and Dettol. Resistance of colony to higher concentration of disinfectant was observed with the respective disinfectants on prolonged study. Addition of 1ml can be seen as the critical dosage. The low COD values observed at 0.5 ml or 1 ml suggest the presence of high faecal colony, likely due to tolerance or inhibitory effects. Low BOD values were observed with addition of 1 ml confirms that the dosage is the critical dosage since it suggest that lower biomass requiring oxygen for oxidation was present in the sample at this dosage. This is also reflected in the COD assessment. From comparism of the disinfectants effect shows usage of Izal recorded higher disinfectant effect compared to Dettol

An Optimization Approach for Assessing the Reliability of Rainwater Harvesting

This study was aimed at developing an optimization approach to rainwater harvesting (RWH) considering three (3) water consumption scenarios (WCS). These scenarios which include basic water need (BWN), pour flush (PF) and full plumbing connection (FPC) corresponding to 50 litres per capita per day (lpcd), 75(lpcd) and 150(lpcd) respectively were simulated for different categories of buildings. Reliability of supply was determined by first obtaining composite surplus/deficit of rainwater followed by optimizing the redistribution of surplus rainwater harvested to deficient buildings. Results showed that when total annual rainfall intercepted by roof exceeded total demand, 100% reliability of water supply was guaranteed. Reliability was found to be a linear function of storage. When reliability of supply is possible, the optimized storage bears an inverse exponential relationship to the roof plan area per capita. The relationship between surplus/deficit and roof plan area per capita follows a onephase decay pattern. An optimal redistribution of surplus water from self-sufficient buildings to deficient ones gave an improvement in supply reliability from 64 to 87% for basic water need, 47 to 58% for pour flush and 28 to 29% for full plumbing connection

STATISTICAL EVALUATION OF HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL DATA: A CASE STUDY OF ISHIAGU IN SOUTH-EAST ZONE NIGERIA

For any Engineering project to be efficient, it must be based on consistent and reliable data with good analysis. Reliability, especially for hydro-meteorological data depends on the method of collection, analysis and storage. Ishiagu weather data has been collected since the inception of the school of agriculture in the town in 1997 to date. Statistical analysis of the randomly varying data to check for their consistency and reliability is necessary before use. In this regard, the monthly data set is analysed for annual mean, trends and seasonal distribution pattern. A significant finding of this analysis is that the monthly rainfall has bimodal distribution with peaks in July and September. For the temperature of the area, it showed a sinusoidal pattern due to the seasons and this also reflects on the relative humidity of the area. A regression analysis of the three data of rainfall, temperature and relative humidity indicates a coefficient of correlation of r = 0.3, t = -0.40 and rh = -0.67. Because of the low state of the coefficient of correlation of the three parameters it may be necessary to recheck with either power, exponential or polynomial functions. From the determination of frequency of extreme events using Gumbel distribution, the highest annual rainfall value is determined to have a return period of less than 20years and the 17years records also was adjudged adequate

Parametric evaluation of the Euler–Lagrangian approach for tracer studies

The determination of dispersion number or its coefficient is pertinent to the control of pollution. This study evaluated the importance of the parameters measured from a river in South West Nigeria, during tracer studies using the Euler–Lagrangian approach. Several measurements which included tracer concentration, width, velocity, sampling time, and sampling point interval were obtained between January and April of 2017, cutting across the raining and dry seasons for model development and sensitivity analysis. The result revealed that a 1% increase in the dispersion coefficient will result from a 2.487% increase in velocity (t = 2.671, p = 0.020) and 8.914% increase in the channel width (t = 6.124, p = 0.000), which were statistically significant at 5% and 1%, respectively. This finding is well supported by previous studies which made use of the variable distance and constant time method. Furthermore, sampling time (t = 5.087, p = 0.000), sampling point interval (t = 6.124, p = 0.000), and tracer concentration (t = 2.453, p = 0.030) were new variables identified and all were statistically significant and had a direct relationship with dispersion coefficient. It is recommended that the Euler–Lagrangian approach should be adopted in other rivers to verify these claims, as it could be seen as a sustainable method for conducting tracer studie

Influence Of Escarpment On Rainfall Pattern: A Case Study Of Udi-South Eastern Nigeria

The presence of escarpment plays an important role in the distribution of rainfall. Its role was studied and was put together in this paper. Various parameter were studied and they included: amount of rainfall, elevation, latitude and the distance from the sea. In this research, frequency analysis was performed on the parameters and the log-pearson type III was considered the most suitable distribution method. Also, principal component analysis was used to determine that two components best estimates the variables with close correlation to be rainfall, elevation, latitude and distance from the sea as component 1 and distance to nearest neighbour and longitude as component 2. With regional coefficient of variation of 22%, the area has low variability indicative of high rainfall values with good consistency. Annual average rainfall of South Eastern Nigeria is at 1744mm with bi-modal double peaks in July and September as in most parts of Southern Nigeria. From the determination of the difference in mean, it is again obvious that areas close to Udi escarpment have mean below or slightly above mean, hence affecting rainfall

Evaluation of Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Wind and Wind Resources: A Case Study of Some Nigerian Cities

Wind Energy available in 24 Nigeria cities is estimated using monthly wind speed data. The country is grouped into zones, namely: Coastal, Inland, Middle Belt and far Northern regions for effective characterization into areas of similar climatic conditions. To analyze the wind data, a check on the reliability is made to ensure adequacy for the estimation of spatial and temporal characteristics of the nation’s wind resources. The long-term average wind speed, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, shape and scale factors and wind power densities are estimated for each city and averaged for zones. From the results generated, the classification of the 24 stations into class 1-7 is made. Classification indicates class 1 for the weakest location for siting of wind power generators to class 7 the strongest possible site for electric energy generator site. Sites with high altitude mostly in the Northern part of the country, such as Jos, Minna, Sokoto, Gusau, Katsina and Kano show potentials for investment in wind power generators. In the southern part of the country, possible offshore wind generator is advocated. For cities such as Ikeja, Enugu and Ikom, generators may be considered though not very economical when average yearly wind speed is the subject

Fluoride contamination in groundwater sources in Southwestern Nigeria: Assessment using multivariate statistical approach and human health risk

The present study investigated the ionic and fluoride concentrations in tap water and its associated health risk to local dwellers of Ogun State (Abeokuta south), Nigeria. 63 samples were collected from twenty-one different locations. Results obtained revealed the mean concentration of fluoride (F–) as 1.23 mg/L. Other water quality parameters such as total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), F–, Fe2+, and SO4 2– surpassed the WHO guidance for drinking water. Strong positive correlation was observed between F– and TDS; F– and pH; TDS and EC; TDS and Mg2+; TDS and SO4 2–; TDS and HCO3 –; EC and HCO3 –; EC and SO4 2–; Na+ and Cl–; SO4 2– and Cl–. In addition, Empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK) model was employed to spatially distribute the concentration of the analyzed elements within the study region. The chronic daily dose (CDD) and hazard quotient (HQ) were also used to evaluate the health risk associated with F–, considering dermal and ingestion as pathways. The results revealed that the associated HQ for infants between the age range of 6–12months within about 91% of the study region surpassed the accepted HQ limit. However, the HQ for age categories 11–16years;>65years; 18–21years; 21years; 16–18years within 95.2%, 90.5%, 80.95% and 100% of the study location were less than 1. Conclusively, the HQ values obtained in this study should serve as a baseline information for water management authorities, policymakers and the society at large towards addressing these pollution issues

Life Cycle Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Using Concrete or Timber to Construct a Duplex Residential Building

Traditionally, the choice of construction materials depended principally on the strengths of materials, cost of material, availability of materials, simplicity of erection, aesthetics and technical expertise available to the society. This meant that little attention was paid to the environment impacts of materials adopted for civil construction. After centuries of speedy advancement accompanied by deteriorating ecosystem as evidenced by the global climate change and the accompanying gap between the rich and the poor, the world is becoming more conscious of the ecosystem and the future of mankind. This has led to the growing quest for sustainable development. In the more recent years, environmental and sustainability factors are becoming compelling factors in the choice of construction materials. Researches focused on materials for affordable houses for the increasing low income masses are on the increase. This research focuses on the environmental impact performance of concrete and timber applied to a modest duplex residential building. It explores using Athena Impact Estimator software to model the greenhouses gases expressed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalents, sulphur dioxide equivalents, phosphate equivalents and ethane equivalents potentials obtainable from using concrete or timber to build a duplex residential building. From the various results obtained, it is very evident that timber construction is more eco-friendly in terms of carbon emission reduction which translates to reducing global warming, thermal insulation and energy efficiency. This will be helpful in making choice for building materials to be adopted for affordable houses developing countries

Assessment of KOH-activated unripe Musa paradisiaca peel for adsorption of copper from aqueous solution

Adsorption of copper ions out of aqueous solution by preparing activated carbon from unripe Musa paradisiaca peel (UmpP) with KOH was investigated. Estimation of the adsorption constants was achieved by adopting the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Results revealed that the adsorption process was fast and equilibrium was reached at 55 mins. The adsorption efficiency was highly influenced by the pH of the solution, and the maximum adsorption was attained at pH 7.5. In addition, an increase in adsorption capacity was observed with increase in contact time and initial copper concentration. The adsorption process was explained by both Langmuir and Freundlich models having R2 value of 0.9977 and 0.9959 at 303 K respectively and R2 value of 0.9922 and 0.9904 at 308 K respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of KOH-modified UmpP at the specified conditions was found to be 9.980 and 9.766 mg/g at 303 and 308 K respectively. Sequel to modelling the kinetic data, the Pseudo-second-order model gave the best fit with R2 = 0.9990 and 0.9977 at 303 and 308 K respectively, indicating that the adsorption process is restricted to chemisorption. KOH-modified UmpP can serve as an economically and environmentally viable sorbent for the removal of copper from contaminated waters