Metodología de evaluación del impacto ambiental de aceites esenciales como posibles desinfectantes en ambientes intrahospitalarios

Abstract

The objective of this project was to establish a methodology for the environmental impact assessment of essential oils as disinfectants in hospital environments. The methodological process consisted of a first stage where a bibliometric analysis was carried out in the Scopus database, this allowed the identification of the environmental risk assessment (ERA), assessment of ecotoxicological hazards and environmental fate, chemical ranking and scoring method (CRS), life cycle analysis (LCA) and risk assessment as current and emerging impact assessment methodologies. In a second stage, the integrated methodology for the assessment of the environmental impact of the use of essential oils as disinfectants was proposed based on the application of the modified chemical ranking and scoring method (CRS), life cycle analysis (LCA) and environmental risk assessment (ERA). In a third stage, the respective socialization of the proposed methodology was executed, and a survey was applied to the selected panel of experts, where four out of the five members indicated that the proposed methodology was pertinent and accomplished its purpose with satisfaction. However, it was suggested to add more detailed instructions, keep a record of the data collection time, verify the applicability of the databases to the project according to the chemical compounds of the disinfectant, define a representative functional unit for the LCA, identify the environmental aspects and apply an environmental assessment matrix that fits the needs of the project