Radiographs can be thrown into hospitals and clinics, pharmacies, radiograph collection centers and clean or green points, so that they can then have a second life. You can also choose to make crafts with them.
There are countless objects and products that we accumulate at home and that we really don’t need to save. For this reason, many times when we decide to clean, we take large bags and put everything we don’t want, throwing it in the trash. If we organize a little, we can get this waste to have a second life, help someone who can need them and do not contaminate the environment.
A clear case is the radiographs, which although we cannot give them to anyone because they need them as such, they can have a second life and can be reused. If we prefer to simply throw them because we do not want to start making crafts, we have to think Where the radiographs are thrown that we no longer need. Next, in Ecology Verde we tell you the reason why they should not be thrown out at normal trash and where they have to take them to be processed without contaminating.
Why radiographs pollute the environment
Although we see radiographs like a piece of plastic, They cannot be discarded in the yellow container along with other plastics. The reason is that, although its composition does have a plastic base, also They contain heavy metalslike silver, so they cannot be mixed and should be treated separately and properly to avoid pollution.
When they are discarded at normal garbage, normally in the gray container or the bins, they end up in garbage dumps or in outdoor fields. Then, when getting wet or starting to break down the action of climatic agents, Heavy metals that compose them leave the plastic part that retained them so far and contaminate the earth, crops, waters, etc. This is dangerous because we can end up ingesting these heavy metals and, in addition, the farm of cultivation loses its fertility and good condition to cultivate and the fish and plants of the rivers and other aquatic environments end up dying by poisoning.
Do radiographs saved at home pollute?
Many people wonder if the radiographs they keep at home, either due to current medical matters or if they are later needed as a medical history or monitoring of a health problem, they also contaminate or if these only do so in the environment.
The truth is that while they are well saved radiographs at home do not pollutesince they do not detach radioactivity as many believe, or give off the heavy metals that contain if they do not get much wet or are left outdoors.
Therefore, we must not be alarmed and get rid of all those we keep in this format, since they can also be useful for medical follow -up of our health. In addition, luckily, today there are no longer so many Plastic plate radiographs To the patients, but the hospital stays in digital format and if we need it, they also give them to us in digital format, either in a CD, a pendrive or USB memory or send them by email. So the future, luckily, are the Digital radiographs.
Where to throw old radiographs
If you need to get rid of plastic plaque radiographs that you no longer want to have at home, it is best to report well with where old radiographs are thrown so that they do not contaminate The environment. These are the options that exist, although not all are available in all countries.
Hospitals and clinics
In most hospitals and in some medical clinics there is a special container To deposit the radiographs that are discarded. Then, when the container is full, empty and all take a recycling plant specialized in treating these plastic plates with heavy metals. As we will see more advances, when treated, pollution is avoided and a good part of these radiographs ends up recycling.
Pharmacies
In many pharmacies you can also find these containers, they are usually red containers or especially indicate They are to discard radiographs. In this case, operation is exactly the same as in hospitals.
Radiographic collection centers
In some countries, especially in areas close to hospitals or close to radiographic recycling plants, there are specific collection points or centers of these materials. Again, as the containers fill them to the nearest treaty plants to recycle them so that they do not harm the environment.
Clean or green points
Finally, another option to recycle radiographs that exists in many countries is to deposit them at a green or clean point. These are points that have several Special and specialized personnel containers to help citizens treat different waste that cannot be thrown into normal recycling containers (brown, blue, yellow and green). As with the rest of discarded materials, when the container is complete, they take it to the recycling plant indicated in each case.
Discover in this other ecology article see what is a clean point and what it is for.
In addition, you can choose not to discard them, since at home you can do Crafts to reuse old radiographs As, for example, make an original screen for a lamp.
How old radiographs are recycled
We have mentioned that the radiographs deposited in hospitals, pharmacies, collection centers and clean points are taken to a recycling plant specialized in dealing with these materials, which contain both plastic and heavy materials and silver. But what is the an radiography recycling process?
- Once the sacks or containers full of radiographs arrive, their deterioration status is evaluated in the recycling plant and cut into very small pieces or are ground. In this way, the rest of the process is easier and, in addition, the personal data protection law is complied with, since they usually bear the name of the written patient.
- When they have the small pieces they are placed within large baskets that are part of tanks or soft and centrifuging machines, which contain various specific products to extract heavy materials.
- The baskets are passed from one bath to another, in the order necessary so that the products can act correctly to extract the plastic metals. This process can be said that it is equivalent to a laundering of radiographs.
- The result is small plastic sheets. That is, old radiographs become PET plastics, which are recyclable and can be used to make plastic bottles, plastic containers or even textile fiber and make, for example, polar linings.
- The resulting silver solution, which has remained in the tanks or machines of washing and centrifugate, is refined and marketed as silver, so it is reused.
If you want to read more articles similar to Where the radiographs are thrownwe recommend that you enter our recycling and waste management category.
