Hospital wastewater treatment scenario around the globe

A review on hospital wastewater treatment: A special emphasis on occurrence and removal of pharmaceutically active compounds, resistant microorganisms, and SARS-CoV-2

“…[31] . Kumari et al (2020) reported that the wastewater generated by developing countries varies from 200 to 400 L/capita/day, while in developed countries, it varies from 400-1200 L/capita/day [1] . The amount of wastewater generation from various hospitals across the world has been provided in Table 1 .…”

“…The amount of wastewater generated from the hospitals only becomes a cause for concern when they are not discharged adhering to the standards and guidelines set by various organizations, such as the environment protection agency (EPA), WHO, etc. [1] . Usually, hospital effluents are discharged into the sewer systems before they are treated with municipal sewage treatment plants [21] .…”

“…These hospital effluents are characterized by high COD content (120 to 500 mg/L), TSS (150 to 160 mg/L), PhACs, bacteria, viruses, etc. which can impose adverse effects on the aquatic environment [1] .…”

“…Hospitals play a pivotal role in the well-being of humanity and facilitate research in the field of medical advancement. They help in complementing various parts of the health system and provide continuous services to tackle the complex health conditions of human beings [1] . The healthcare sector is one of the largest employers in the United States (US), with more than six million people employed at US hospitals with around 36.3 million admissions in 2018 [2] .…”

“…With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and other health care facilities have been responsible for giving a chance for survival to more than 20 million people affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Concerning the ever-growing expansion of medication and health care activities in the hospital, the generation of large quantities of wastewater and its management is an impounding challenge in environmental engineering [1] . On average, hospitals in developed countries generate a significantly higher volume of wastewater as compared to hospitals in developing countries [1] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] .…”