Waste from aircraft gets special treatment

Shanghai Pudong International Airport handles about 6 tons of garbage and waste water every day from flights that have carried suspected COVID-19 patients. Strict procedures are in place to prevent the spread of the disease from the waste.

According to the airport's "closed management" process, all solid waste on passenger aircraft is transported to a specialized site by the airlines. After disinfection, it is sent to Laogang in the Pudong New Area, the city"s largest garbage disposal facility, for incineration.

The waste liquid on the flights with suspected cases is disinfected and treated at a specialized sewage pump station at the airport before being discharged.

With the increasing number of imported COVID-19 cases on international flights since March, the amount of garbage requiring such treatment has increased to around six tons a day from about 1.2 tons previously, Shanghai Airport Authority said on Tuesday.

Seven airport staff have been dispatched to disinfect and transport the waste. They commute between the airport's garbage disposal site and the Laogang incineration plant and stay at a temporary dormitory at the airport to prevent contact with family members or colleagues.

"Frankly, I'm also scared, but somebody must do the job," said Gui Dongping, one of workers. He and his colleagues start work at 5am, wearing hazmat suits and goggles for at least eight hours per day.

The airport has set up restricted areas and installed a mist cannon to spray disinfectant onto garbage from flights with COVID-19 cases.

All garbage bins and transport vehicles are thoroughly disinfected after use. Two specialized vans transport the garbage to the incineration plant.

The density of chlorine in the disinfectant for the garbage has been increased by over 10 times compared with that sprayed in the terminal buildings.

For the treatment of waste water from flights, the airport has allocated its No. 2 and No. 3 sewage stations to serve aircraft landed at the T1 and T2 terminals. Human waste is treated in the No.2 station.

Disinfectant pills must be added to the sewage water and there"s a wait of two hours before chlorine is added for a further 90 minutes.

Sprayers have been installed near the water discharge outlets of both sewage stations to ensure the safety of workers and the environment.

The Pudong airport has treated about 202.8 tons of solid waste and 201.6 tons of waste water from 688 flights with suspected COVID-19 cases between January 31 and Tuesday, the airport authority said.