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Friday, September 27, 2002
MICAME: Cebu’s medical wastes
By Rel P. Micame
TICKING BOMB. “The problem of treating medical wastes in Cebu has already reached uncontrollable proportion. It’s like a ticking bomb about to explode,” declared Lindy Morrell, manager of Asian Environmental Resources Center Inc. based in Cebu City.
Morrell, a retired National Economic Development Authority (Neda) regional executive director, said that Cebu, specifically Barangay Labogon in Mandaue City, almost had one medical waste treatment plant. But then Labogon barangay councilor now Barangay Captain Damaso Tumulak blocked its implementation. Had the facility been put up, hospitals in Cebu would have disposed of their medical wastes in healthful and scientific manner. The Umapad dumpsite in Mandaue City would have been spared from being utilized as a disposal area of hospital wastes.
UNSAFE. The present practice of disposing medical wastes is environmentally unsafe and unsound. The me-dical wastes, although placed in sealed bags, are loaded on garbage compactors. This method of waste disposal is dangerous because the garbage compactor compresses the garbage before dumping them to our dumpsites.
The sealed bags containing medical wastes are probably destroyed by the compressing device in compactors. And when these are unloaded in garbage dump-sites, scavengers open them to find recyclable or saleable items. To prove his point, Morrell showed me pictures of syringes and human body parts thrown at dumpsites. And, who knows, those syringes were sold by scavengers to vendors of dressed chickens at our public markets.
Morrell also told me that he had taken video shots of septic tanks loaded with toxic liquid wastes from funeral parlor being unloaded in sanitary landfills. Septic tank owners or operators usually do the throwing of toxic liquid wastes during the wee hours at dawn. What if the bags contain infectious virus? A tragedy— an epidemic might occur, God forbid, Morrell said.
SUITABLE SITE. But City Mayor Thadeo Ouano is very receptive on the medical waste problem. After Labogon Barangay Captain Tumulak declared that the proposed medical waste facility is not welcome in his barangay, Mayor Ouano exerted so much effort in finding a site for the facility. The mayor found a suitable site for a medical waste treatment facility at the Mandaue District Hospital compound. The general public can no longer object to the medical waste treatment plant because hospitals are mandated by law to have such facility.
SAFE. Morrell is waiting for the arrival of the experts from Solutek Holdings Inc. of the United States who will install the facility – a much safer alternative to the use of microwave technology. In the Solutek technology, the treatment of medical wastes is environmentally safe and sound starting from the hospitals to delivery and processing at the treatment facility. Hospital wastes are placed in sealed color-coded bags and in sealed steel bins. The bags are then brought to the treatment plant by sealed vans. The bins are then lifted and loaded on in-feed hopper with cover. The wastes are then shredded into tiny pieces; after which, they are placed in a microwave vessel where they will be sterilized through a steam process. There will absolutely be no burning or incineration which is banned under our Clean Air Act.
The by-products which are already environmentally safe are then placed in containers. These can be disposed to sanitary landfill projects or to cement factories where they will be used as fuel for their kiln dryers.
INCOME-GENERATING. The Mandaue medical waste treatment plant will be a joint venture between the City Government and Solutek. It will be an income-generating venture. The facility will accept medical wastes from other hospitals in Cebu for a fee.
SCRIPTURE READING. Suggested reading of the Holy Bible for today is found in the Gospel according to St. Luke 9:18-22 “Peter’s declaration about Jesus,” and for Sept. 28— St. Luke 9:43-45 “Jesus speaks again about His death.”
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