Assessment of dental waste management in a Nigerian tertiary hospital

This study assessed the practice of disposing of waste from the eight dental clinics of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. All the cleaners (14) in the hospitals were surveyed through questionnaire. Information obtained from the cleaners included socio-economic characteristics (biodata), personal protection, facilities available for them to work with and job satisfaction. Two soil samples were obtained from the open dump site (0.15 and 0.30 m depth) and two water sam-ples were also collected (at 0.00 and 50.00 m) within the vicinity of the dump site. Both the soil and water samples were taken to the central science laboratory for chemical analyses. Ten (71.4%) of the 14 cleaners were not satisfied with their job. The lab-oratory findings suggested a very high content of lead, chromium, mercury, cadmium and manganese in both soil and water sam-ples in comparison with the Nigerian Federal Environmental Protection Agency standards. The study concludes that the use of tooth-coloured restorative materials and digital X-ray facility to serve as alternatives to the generation of these wastes is rec-ommended and that farming activities should not be allowed in the area until an audit of the soil and water have been performed