Siloxane residues in healthcare wastes

Siloxanes have quietly found their way into the revision of HTM 07 01, most likely because they are the latest bee to land in someone’s EA bonnet!

Siloxanes apparently cause significant damage to plant and equipment used in the sewage treatment process, though we are not blessed with the provision of any evidence to support this. Certainly, siloxanes can foul pumps, reducing their effective life span and as such can be a real problem, but what is the contribution from siloxane residues in empty hand rub bottles?

The architects of HTM 07 01 expect that waste producers will segregate wastes containing siloxanes for disposal as chemical waste. Particular reference is made to the presence of siloxanes in many alcohol hand rub products, and that is undoubtedly correct. The additive – in trace concentration only – is to improve hand ‘feel’ and ease spreading of the product over skin surfaces to improve hand decontamination.

Empty containers of siloxane-containing hand rubs must be excluded from domestic waste on the basis of the siloxane-residues that they may contain. Since it is expected that the containers would first be rinsed, and that those rinsings would be drained to sewer, this must not be! But this is irrational and points to, at the very best, a degree of incompetence on the part of the architects of HTM 07 01 for presenting information in this way.

Aside from the inevitably that containers are unlikely to be rinsed, there are two issues:

  1. If an empty 1 litre container of siloxane-containing hand rub is rinsed and flushed to drain the volume is small, very small. But what do we do with the [comparatively] massive amount of siloxane from the 980ml of gel that was used? Those siloxanes stay on our hands as the alcohol evaporates. Are we never to wash our hands again?
  2. Siloxanes have become ubiquitous. They are present in cosmetics, cleaning products, a wide range of pharmaceuticals, deodorants and defoamers, water repellents, as food additives and in some soaps. Siloxanes are used in a range of fabric conditioning treatments, in dry cleaning and as stain-resistant coatings. And a little bit in alcohol hand rubs.

Though there is every reason to avoid contamination of water effluents from hospitals and from waste recycling/disposal operations this seems like another over-egged pudding that may well be used unreasonably against the disposal industries.

If manufacturers can remove siloxanes from alcohol hand rub and other products, then that is clearly admirable. But hand hygiene in healthcare remains an imperative. And with a little bit of common sense it should be seen that this particular addition to HTM 07 01 is entirely overstated to the point of being frankly silly.

But these overstated issues do have a habit of causing problems in regulation. Bad science makes for bad regulation. Even worse is regulation predicated on the misuse of science

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