Comparing the effluent from Mbarara referral hospital sewage treatment plant with the national standards for effluent discharge into the environment

Abstract

Provision of health care, like any other human activities, generates waste which has to be managed and disposed off in a safe manner to minimize risks posed to the health of health workers, clients and the community at large. About 10 to 25% of waste generated in health institutions are hazardous and require special arrangements for management. These pose risks by being infectious, toxic, radioactive or causing injuries. Hospitals effluents may contain chemical compounds which could have an impact on the environment and human health. Hospitals consume a significant amount of water in a day ranging from 20 per day per bed and generate significant amount of wastewater loaded with microorganisms, nutrients and radioactive elements and in this case, children, adults and animals all have the potential to come into contact with hospital waste effluent through irrigation or agricultural activities which may pose severe health risk to them. The study aimed as comparing the quality of effluent from Mbarara referral hospital sewage treatment plant with the national standards for effluent discharge into the environment. Specifically three objectives guided the study: (1) To examine the effluent treatment processes at Mbarara Referral Hospital sewage treatment plant. (2) To determine the physio-chemical parameters (Temperature, pH, TDS, TSS, DO, BOD, EC, COD), phosphates, color, of effluent discharge from Mbarara Referral Hospital sewage treatment plant. Thirty samples were collected for a period of two weeks of which some of were analyzed on site while others were taken to the laboratory for analysis. Checklist was also used to interview the key respondents. Data was analyzed using a student t test that compared the mean values of the three lagoons with the national standards for effluent, a checklist was used to get the key information about the plant, and observations to determine the variation in the color of the waste water in the three lagoons. The results revealed that temperature ,TDS,TSS, DO, did not show any significance in their mean values in lagoon 1 and 2, PH, BOD, COD, EC and PO4 showed a significant difference in their mean values with the national standards for effluent discharge. While the mean values in lagoon 2 and 3 showed no significance in means of PH, TDS, TSS, BOD, and EC compared to the standards and significantly different compared to the standards.