Biosafety - Public Health and Veterinary Waste Management: A Case Study in Veterinary Clinics in Kermanshah. Iran

BACKGROUND: The harmful, dangerous essence of the veterinary waste of hospitals, clinics and labora- tories and the consequences of their inconsistent management, such as problems caused by lack of planning in separating, storing, collecting, transporting and disposing of them, causes many environmental and health problems. On the other hand, according to clause 11 and 2 of the Special Waste Management Law of the Environment Protection Organization (E.P.O) and the Ministry of Health of Iran, the waste of veterinary clinics isalso hazardous waste due to the presence of a variety of microorganisms harmful to humans and animals (such as anthrax & brucellosis, etc.). OBJECTIVES: The guidelines and checklist of the Environment & World Health Organization (WHO) were used in order to increase awareness of the management of the waste from veterinary centers. METHODS: The answers to the questions were completed by the direct referral of the researcher to 6 pub- lic and private veterinary centers. Statistical evaluation was analyzed using SPSS Version 22. RESUTLS: The results showed that although veterinary waste management in clinics and government laboratories is relatively more favorable than private veterinary clinics, it is far from world health standards. CONCLUSIONS: Application of rules and guidelines, increasing the level of knowledge and staff training at all levels, and continuous monitoring of the collection, transportation and disposal of veterinary waste are necessary.