ABSTRACT
Biobased content is the amount of biobased carbon in the material or product as a fraction weight (mass) or percent weight (mass) of the total organic carbon in the material or product. ASTM Method D6866-05 is the U.S. government-approved method for determining the renewable/biobased content of biobased products. Biobased materials are organic materials in which the carbon comes from contemporary (nonfossil) biological sources. Biodegradable plastics are plastics that can decompose into carbon dioxide, methane, water, inorganic compounds, or biomass via microbial assimilation (the enzymatic action of microorganisms). To be considered biodegradable, this decomposition has to be measured by standardized tests and takes place within a specied period, which varies according to the disposal method chosen. The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) has created denitions on what constitutes biodegradability in various disposal environments. Plastics that meet ASTM D6400, for instance, can be certied as biodegradable and compostable in commercial composting facilities. In Europe, the equivalent standardized test criterion is EN 13432. In the United States, there is a biodegradability standard for soil (ASTM D5988), a biodegradability test standard for marine and freshwater (ASTM D6692 and D6691), one for wastewater treatment facilities (ASTM D5271), and one for anaerobic digestion (ASTM D 5511). A number of fossil-fuel-based polymers are certied biodegradable and compostable. Biodegradability is directly linked to the chemical structure, not to the origin of raw materials. What is often less understood is that medical equipment used in healthcare settings inside and outside the operating room-such as hemodialysis machines, wall mount drug-delivery systems, and probe docking stations-may require similar cleaning and disinfection validations. It states that these devices may contribute to secondary cross-contamination by the hands of healthcare workers or by contact with medical instruments that will subsequently come into contact with patients.
