Baker Furnace Provides Solution for Handling Infectious Medical Waste During COVID-19 Pandemic
Baker Furnace, a leading supplier of pollution control equipment, is excited to announce an incineration solution for infectious medical waste. As more and more people are treated for COVID-19, the amount of infectious waste produced will continue to increase. Baker Furnace manufactures medical waste incinerators that use temperatures in excess of 1,000° C to eliminate infectious pathogens and reduce waste.
According to preliminary data the COVID-19 virus survives longer outside the body than the common flu. The medical waste that hosts these pathogens will need to be treated at help centers and hospitals across the world. For example, medical personnel are using N95 masks throughout their shifts. These N95 masks may contain the COVID-19 virus and will need to be disposed of properly to eliminate the potential of infecting others. The sheer number of N95 masks and other PPE that are being used and disposed of creates a waste issue at medical facilities. If this waste is simply sterilized and taken to a landfill instead of incinerating, the environmental impact will be significant.
Medical waste incinerators provide an effective, environmentally friendly solution to the impending medical waste crisis. Baker Furnace specializes in pollution control equipment including waste incinerators that are used on pathological and infectious medical waste. These incinerators effectively destroy COVID-19 along with other virus by using a thermal oxidation process and heating the medical waste to extreme temperatures in excess of 1,000°C.
Baker Furnace’s medical waste incineration systems are designed in configurations that allow for them to be transported from site to site and only require an electric and gas connection. This provides facilities with the option to maximize their usage and waste reduction. A medical waste incinerator will not only eliminate the virus on waste but also reduce the amount of waste by up to 99%. This secondary benefit is important to consider because it minimizes the increase in landfill waste due to this pandemic and provides a cost savings to facilities on waste disposal services.
“Autoclaves can use steam to sterilize medical waste but there is no reduction of waste. Our systems can be designed to process a few pounds of waste to thousands of pounds of waste. As medical waste increases during this pandemic it is important to limit the environmental impact and minimize additional landfill waste.” – Greg Jennings, President and CEO