Abstract

KASTER, Flávia Pôrto de Barros; LUND, Rafael Guerra  and  BALDISSERA, Elaine de Fátima Zanchin. Radioactive waste management in dental offices from the city of Pelotas (RS, Brazil). Arq. Odontol. [online]. 2012, vol.48, n.4, pp. 242-250. ISSN 1516-0939.

Aim: To evaluate the segregation, treatment and disposal of the radioactive waste produced by dentists from Pelotas, RS, Brazil, who use x-ray machines in their dental offices, which are registered with the Department of Sanitation, as well as their knowledge about sustainability. Materials and Methods: Forty dentists answered a questionnaire with sixteen closed questions which addressed the knowledge of these professionals concerning sustainability, the separation of solid components from radiographic films, the treatment of processing solutions in the dental office, waste disposal, and the use of proper management as a marketing tool. Results: It could be observed that 35.0% of the sample disposed of the developer and fixer solutions in the sewage without prior neutralization. The majority of the participants (67.5%) believed that the water that washes the film during its processing potential polluter, although 65% discarded the water directly into the common sewage. Regarding the disposal of solid waste, 37.5% of the dentists reported not separating out the components of the radiographic film. The majority of these professionals (90.0%) were aware of sustainable development, of which 95.0% tried to preserve the environment when discarding waste from their dental offices, and 70.0% believed that the proper disposal of waste could prove economically viable. Conclusions: Most professionals said they were aware of sustainable development and tried to preserve the environment when discarding waste produced in their dental offices. Dentists reported difficulty in disposing of wastewater, but most can adequately classify and segregate the radiographic film waste.

Keywords : Dental waste.; Toxic wastes.; Sustainable development.; Radiography..