UN expert: Medical waste becoming an increasing problem

Medical waste is posing a growing problem worldwide, jeopardizing the health of staff, patients, disposal workers and anyone else coming into contact with the often hazardous materials discarded by ho

Medical waste is posing a growing problem worldwide, jeopardizing the health of staff, patients, disposal workers and anyone else coming into contact with the often hazardous materials discarded by hospitals and other health-care sites, a United Nations human rights expert said today.

Calin Georgescu, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and toxic waste, issued a report in which he warned that the world is not paying enough attention to the problems caused by medical waste.

โ€œSome 20 to 25 per cent of the total waste generated by health-care establishments is regarded as hazardous and may create a variety of health and environmental risks if not managed and disposed of in an appropriate manner,โ€ he said.

Medical waste can include a wide range of hazardous materials, such as infectious waste, anatomical and pathological waste, obsolete or expired chemical products and pharmaceuticals, radioactive materials and so-called โ€œsharps,โ€ medical instruments or devices that are no longer used.

The problem is rising particularly quickly in developing countries, where the amount of waste being generated is rising rapidly as health-care services in those States are expanded, and the technological and financial tools to ensure the waste is managed responsibly may not exist.

โ€œIn health-care establishments where hazardous medical waste is incinerated, open burning and widespread deficiencies in the operation and management of small-scale medical waste incinerators result in incomplete waste destruction, inappropriate ash disposal and dioxins emissions, which can be even 40,000 times higher than emission limits set forth in international conventions,โ€ Mr. Georgescu said.

The Special Rapporteur noted that contaminated sharps attract the most attention, with needle-stick injuries exposing people to blood-borne pathogens such as the hepatitis B virus, the hepatitis C virus and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

โ€œHowever, each type of hazardous medical waste presents hazards that jeopardize the enjoyment of human rights.โ€

Mr. Georgescu has made a series of recommendations to reduce the threat posed by medical waste, including proposing the development of an international legal regime to manage and dispose such waste and replacing incineration as a disposal method with more environmentally-friendly methods.

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Linda Hohnholz

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