Ireland-based Technopath Clinical Diagnostics says Northwell Health, one of the state of New York's largest health care providers, is using its Envetec 200 system to help neutralize potentially infectious medical waste in a COVID-19 treatment environment.
Northwell, which has with 23 hospitals and nearly 800 outpatient facilities, is the first health system worldwide to implement Technopath’s technology, according to the firm.
“As Northwell Health significantly ramps up COVID-19 testing to over 1,600 samples daily, there is an urgent need to quickly and reliably minimize the risk of spreading disease from infected medical waste,” says Malcolm Bell, CEO and founder of Technopath. “Partnering with Northwell to provide the most advanced, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective technology for the treatment of medical waste infected with coronavirus is allowing us to respond to what the World Health Organization has characterized as a global pandemic.”
Technopath’s Envetec 200 system simultaneously shreds and disinfects infectious medical waste using a patented destruction and disinfection process designed to kill COVID-19 viruses along with bacteria, spores and other pathogens that could pose a danger to human health.
According to Technopath, the process requires no heat, and no dangerous chemicals emanate from the system at the end of each 20-minute treatment cycle. The resulting confetti-like solid residue is categorized as regular trash, entirely safe to handle, and can be used in a number of waste-to-energy and other recycling applications, says the firm.
“For the past several weeks, Northwell has continued to take on the health and safety challenges posed by COVID-19,” says Michael Dowling, Northwell president and CEO. “This new technology allows us to remove the unknown risk exposure when disposing of medical waste while avoiding the need for the costly and carbon-inefficient transportation and disposal by third-party handlers. It’s a positive light during a unique time.”
Implementing the Envetec 200 technology comes as Northwell continues to ramp up COVID-19 testing at many of its facilities. Northwell Labs is one of 89 public health laboratories in the United States testing for the novel coronavirus, testing as many as 1,600 potential COVID-19 samples daily.
“We are extremely confident that the Envetec system provides us with the best-in-class technology solution for treating hazardous health care waste at source, and also eliminates any unknown risk of infection to the wider community,” states Dwayne Breining, a doctor and the executive director of Northwell Labs
Northwell Labs installed the Envetec 200 technology in late 2019 and has been awaiting regulatory approval, which was fast-tracked on March 13 when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order to allow a series of special emergency measures. Governor Cuomo’s executive order accelerated the formal approvals from the U.S. EPA and the New York Department of Health that had been pending, enabling Northwell to complete the system validation and put the technology to use.