Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Filipino inventor makes hospital sharp shredder
Filipino inventor Edward Dampor has jumped from welding to finding a solution to hospital waste disposal.
Dampor, who is based in Cebu, introduced a machine that can shred infectious hospital sharps, such as syringe needles, into pebble-sized pieces.
Dampor, who wrote the first Filipino-authored book on welding, launched his invention during the recently concluded National Hospital Week celebration.
“The machine will help stop the illegal practices of unscrupulous persons,” he said.
He revealed that there were reports that some people collect used syringes from hospitals and health centers and repack and sell these to small pharmacies.
With Dampor’s machine, which is the first in the world, these syringes cannot be reused anymore.
He said shredded infectious sharp materials can be used to make hollow blocks, as these can be treated with chemicals or the ultraviolet rays.
Dampor said Tiburcio Macias, president of the Philippine Hospital Association (PHA) along with Environmental Management Bureau 7 Director Alan Arranguez, Department of Science and Technology 7 Director Rene Burt Llanto and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) national action officer for marketing Silvano Maranga encouraged him to develop the machine, as it is important to hospitals.
Dampor said his company, Brilliant Metal Craft and Machine Design, aims to manufacture about 1,000 units this year and distribute them, with the help of Tesda and the PHA, all over the country.
The machine, with a shredding capacity of one kilogram per minute, will cost around P875,000.
Dampor, who graduated in one of the trainings given by Tesda, won the President Ramon Magsaysay award last year in the self-employed category in the region. (JBN)
(August 17, 2005 issue)
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