Waste management in laboratories of a Brazilian public university: a challenge for environmental health and occupational health

ABSTRACT Higher education institutions, as generators and disseminators of knowledge, are increasingly in need to assume their roles in regional context, especially in the creation of sustainable and environment preservation public policies. In this sense, the aim of this article was to understand the management of health care waste practices in teaching and research laboratories of the Institute of Agrarian Sciences of the Federal University of Minas Gerais - Montes Claros campus. It is a research with quantitative and qualitative approaches, carried out through survey application with workers engaged in the activities of the teaching labs. For the analysis, absolute and relative frequencies, position measurements, central tendency and dispersion were used. Among the problems detected, it should be highlighted: non-compliance with current legislation, concerned to laboratories waste management; absence reported by workers, of training for the accomplishment of their functions, as well as education for risk prevention and proper waste management; insufficient immunization coverage against hepatitis B and tetanus. Although the places researched manage their waste, this work concludes that many practices are at odds with the current legislation and need to be adequate.

【摘要】高等教育机构作为知识的创造者与传播者，愈发需要在区域语境中履行自身职能，尤其在可持续发展与环境保护公共政策的制定方面。基于此，本文旨在探究米纳斯吉拉斯联邦大学蒙蒂斯克拉鲁斯校区农业科学研究所教学与研究实验室的医疗废物管理实践现状。本研究采用定量与定性相结合的研究方法，通过对教学实验室在岗工作人员开展问卷调查完成数据采集。分析过程中，采用了绝对频数、相对频数、位置量数、集中趋势与离散趋势等统计分析方法。本次研究检出的突出问题包括：实验室废物管理未遵守现行法规要求；工作人员报告称未接受岗位职责相关培训，亦未接受风险防范与规范废物处置相关教育；乙肝与破伤风疫苗接种覆盖率不足。尽管本次调研涉及的场所均开展了废物管理工作，但本研究仍得出结论：多数实践与现行法规存在偏差，亟待进行规范完善。