 |
|
|
|
|
SUNDAY TRIBUNE Durban 18 April 2004 MYRTLE RYAN reports: A PINETOWN company has won the tender to dispose of medical waste from all hospitals in the Free State over the next three years. While some environmentalists view this as a step in the right direction, because the company in question autoclaves rather than incinerates, the spectre of tons of medical waste being transported along our highways is not a good one. Compass Waste Services has been given the go-ahead to start moving the waste from May 1. Dr Victor Litlhakanyane of the Department of Health in the Free State confirmed the granting of the tender. "Compass will be responsible for collection and disposal," he said, "But they will have to comply with the Act and dispose of the waste at an approved site." Litlhakanyane said that the sorting of medical waste would take place at the present incinerator room at the National Hospital in Bloemfontein. "Our own incinerator is no longer legally compliant," he said." He mentioned that staff at hospitals throughout the province were to be trained in how to handle, separate and package the waste properly. "Compass will be responsible for this training," he said. Bryan Ashe, of Earthlife Africa eThekwini, said he was pleased that the Free State Health Department had chosen the autoclave process, but strongly advised them to commission their own autoclave plant within six months. "We do not see this as an open-ended opportunity for the transport of medical waste across provincial boundaries," said Ashe, who stressed the necessity for compliance with the contract and regulations to ensure that no medical waste is diverted to Compass Waste's incinerator at Ixopo. "We are calling for the closure of this plant," he said. Environmentalist, Bobby Peek of groundWork, expressed the same concerns, saying there was always the fear that waste might not find its way to the approved destination. He said groundWork is currently involved in trying to shut down the Compass incinerator in Ixopo. The Chairman of the Confederation of Mistbelt Ratepayers and Residents Associations, Lilian Develing, said that she was not happy with the cross-border transportation of waste. "After autoclaving there is still about 10% of treated residue which must be handled as toxic waste," said Develing. "Will they be dumping that on the Shongweni landfill?" Compass Waste's Managing Director, Ian du Randt, said that they intend transporting approximately 40 tons of waste a month, three times a week, in locked and sealed refrigerated purpose-built trucks. The majority of it was to be autoclaved at the company's Westmead plant, which has the capacity to deal with 1 000 tons a month. The rest would be incinerated at a permitted incinerator in Johannesburg. "There are inherent dangers in this business, no matter where the medical waste is transported," said Du Randt. "But we take every precaution and have trained staff to deal with spillages." He said the company had already commissioned a consultant to undertake an Environmental Impact Assessment with a view to establishing an autoclave plant in the Free State. Of the disposal of the treated residue of toxic waste he said that, once autoclaved, the waste would be rendered sterile and sent to the Mariannhill landfill site. ?? |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||