FLOATING MENACE.
Residents of Sitio Apro, Barangay Ibo, Lapu-Lapu City gather in front of a plastic bag containing test tubes with Hepatitis B samples and adult diapers, among other medical waste, that appeared off their shores. Lapu-Lapu City has given two private hospitals five days to explain why their hazardous medical waste ended up floating off the city’s coast.
The Health Care Waste Management Manual released by the Department of Health says waste generators are ultimately responsible for ensuring their wastes are properly treated and disposed of in an approved disposal facility.
The manual was issued by then Health secretary Manuel Dayrit to address the issue of proper health care waste disposal. to the manual, sharp objects, such as needles, should not be removed from syringes because of the risk of injury.
Sealed sharp containers should be collected regularly or frequently as required and transported to the designated on-site or off-site disposal area.
The manual, posted on www. doh.gov.ph, states that all health care waste to be transported to an approved off-site waste treatment facility shall be transported by a Department of Environment and Natural Resources-accredited transporter or courier.
The recommended methods of disposal are chemical disinfection, wet and thermal treatment or autoclaving, and land disposal, particularly sanitary landfill, encapsulation, and safe burial on hospital premises.