Medical Waste Problem Probed
Volume: 1 Issue 1 |  Monday, 05 July 2010 |  Arthi Sanpath  |  0 comment

Image by D'Arcy Norman

Bloody syringes, swabs, blood and urine test tubes, drip needles and bags and HIV treatment kits illegally dumped at the Mariannhill landfill site are endangering people's lives.

The dumping of the medical waste from hospitals, clinics and doctors, discovered at the site over the past week, is being investigated by the provincial Health Department and local authorities.

Martin Paxton, manager of the Re-Ethical Environmental Re-engineering materials recycling facility based at the landfill site, said the find was so disturbing, that his operation had come to a standstill, out of fear for the safety of staff.

Between 400 and 450 tons of waste was now backed up because of fears for the safety of staff. The provincial Health Department and eThekwini municipality were investigating the source of the illegally disposed medical waste.

Chris Maxon, spokesman for the provincial Health Department, said they would liaise with the companies responsible for disposing their medical waste and action would be taken against any company that was found dumping medical waste illegally.

Paxton said over the past week, all the medical waste was brought in green and black municipal bags, used for normal everyday refuse.

"What we found was used syringes, used syringe needles, bloody swabs, blood test tubes, urine test tubes, used surgical gloves, oxygen tubes and masks, used drip needles, used drip bags and tubes and HIV treatment kits," he said.

While Paxton's team was busy cleaning up the previous day's waste from the site, another truck that started to offload waste was found to contain X-ray plates, used surgical needles, blood swabs, and empty drip bags.

A second load that day was found to contain used surgical gloves, drip tubes with needles and blood visible in the tubes, syringes, blood test kits (also known as clickers), blue theatre gowns used during surgery, vials, bloody swabs and medication bottles.

Paxton said all medical waste was discovered in black bags which made it very difficult to detect, and judging by the labelling, he believed the medical items came from private practices and medical centres.

"Medical waste has been identified in some of the vehicles that are collecting general waste from the inner west region," said John Parkin, deputy head of Plant and Engineering at Durban Solid Waste.

He said the waste appeared to come from hospitals and general practitioners.

"We are dealing with the issue of poor waste management practices and will be speaking directly with those identified and through our environmental health officers who are assisting us with the investigations," he said.

Parkin said there was a need for ongoing training within establishments and probably a need for stricter quality control. "In order to minimise handling, a hole will be excavated in the main waste body and the medical waste will be buried," he said.

Parkin said normally, medical waste companies were contracted privately by the medical company to dispose of the waste.

An autoclave was the proper mechanism used to sterilise medical equipment and supplies, and this was the duty of the private medical waste disposal company.

"What happened here was that the waste ended up in the general waste bags," he said. Parkin said someone had not followed the correct procedures, and this was being addressed at the relevant institutions.

"We are speaking to them to tighten up their controls, and then we will monitor them."
Paxton said this was an unexpected incident, and the risk was too high for his staff because of problems with infections.

For the past few days, he said the recycling facility had been standing still, and between 400 to 450 tons of waste had been left unchecked for recyclables. He said Health Department staff had been on site to investigate the matter.

"The service provider is taking chances," Paxton said.