Mapeamento dos resíduos eletroeletrônicos em um hospital público: inventário e a logística reversa.

Abstract

The amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is growing more and more due to programmed obsolescence, thus requiring more effective public policies that establish strategies for the management and certification of the final destinations allocated to such waste, as well as standardized statistics. In this context, the research sought to map WEEE residues in a public university hospital, located in the northeast region, administered at the time of study by Company X, with the purpose of analyzing the management of WEEE existing in said hospital, from the application of the questionnaire approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Lauro Wanderley University Hospital - CEP/HULW under the number CAAE - 79365917.7.0000.5183, in addition to the cataloging and quantification of waste stored improperly in its premises. Subsequently, due to the lack of publications addressing waste of the medical equipment category and in order to know and analyze the scenario of electromedicals in other public hospitals administered by Company X, a questionnaire was prepared and sent online to the persons in charge of the Clinical Engineering sector of thirty-eight (38) public hospitals, located throughout Brazil. The results showed that the public university hospital of the northeast region has an improvised warehouse containing a total of 503 residues, divided into 5 distinct categories of waste electrical and electronic equipment, with the highest percentage of computers and communication equipment (56,26%), followed by the category of medical equipment (40.16%). It was also analyzed that the obsolescence reports were vague and generalist regarding the disposal procedure of WEEE, just as the index of reuse of the components of these wastes was minimal. Among the 38 sectors of Clinical Engineering contacted, only 15 responded, being observed that the main causes of deactivation of the medical equipment consist of the cost for the repair and the lack of repair parts; there is no standard in the space destined to the storage of unserviceable EEE and the auction is the main form of disposal used, and it is verified that the reality of the other hospitals is similar to that verified in the university hospital under study. In this way, some proposals were presented to improve the management of WEEE in public hospitals managed by Company X, such as: definition of own storage space; modification of administrative procedures from the proposed flowchart; employee training; adoption of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system for faster cataloging and accurate reading of assets; implementation of reverse logistics for their WEEE, as provided for in Law 12305/2010; in addition to providing a better control, inspection and certification of their real destinies, especially for the electromedical, which will guarantee environmental, economic, social and public health gains.