Wednesday, Mar 18, 2009
Gulf News
Sharjah: The recent breakdown of the municipality's incinerator recent has led to a number of private medical centres illegally dumping their medical waste in residential aluminium containers.
Residents living in Butaina and Al Qasimia told Gulf News that they were worried for their children's safety as a number of used syringes and blood-stained cotton swabs were found lying on the ground near the neighbourhood's aluminium waste containers.
"It is very dangerous because children play football there and can easily step on the syringes by accident, or maybe a child might find it interesting to play with the needle and he could end up with a terrible disease," said Sophia Barallah.
"I got scared when I saw the cotton filled with blood that was lying on the floor. This is the first time I saw such an unhygienic thing near my home," said Hatem Al Matrood.
A senior official at Sharjah Municipality confirmed that there have been several incidents of medical waste being disposed of illegally in residential areas.
"Private clinics have two options, they can either dispose of their waste through the municipality's incinerator or they can use the services of a private company," said Hassan Al Taffaq, Head of Environmental Section at Sharjah Municipality.
"The incinerator of the municipality has broken down recently and is waiting to be maintained, as the spare parts have to be shipped into the country. So for the time being, private practices have to use their own means in disposing their waste," he said, adding that hefty fines are imposed on health care centres if they violate the rules.
Medical centres are slapped with a Dh200,000 fine if they are found flouting the rules and do not dispose of their waste appropriately as per the regulations issued by Sharjah Municipality.
Al Taffaq pointed out that public health care centres have easy access when disposing their medical waste as the services are provided independently by Al Qasimi Hospital.
Advice: Health hazard
Medical waste is not regular garbage and special care must be taken while disposing of it, including keeping it separate from the general populace, a senior health official said. Medical waste includes blood, tissues, gloves, needles and other items that come in contact with organic matter in a medical setting.
The official at the Ministry of Health, who asked to remain anonymous, told Gulf News medical waste posed a health risk to the public if it was not disposed of in a special incinerator kept isolated from the public. "It's very bad if you throw them out in the open because it can spread diseases and make people ill. Chemicals can be absorbed by the ground and contaminate the area."
He said openly burning medical waste would not be a good idea, either, as the items could give off toxic fumes. He advised anyone who sees medical waste disposed of illegally to contact the emirate's municipality and the ministry.
- Nina Muslim
Have you found such wastes in your neighbourhood? Have you reported it to the authorities? Are you concerned about such dangerous wastes being improperly disposed of?
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