Tweet
Untreated medical waste poses health risk
23:16' 08/06/2009 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge ? Only four among 22 hospitals in central Quang Nam province are equipped with waste treatment facilities, and only one has a standard incinerator, posing a severe threat to the environment and residents? health.
Nguyen Thu, head of the provincial Environment Police Department, said that three general hospitals in Hiep Duc, Que Son and Nam Tra My districts were using low-quality incinerators to burn medical waste. Six hospitals in Nam Giang, Dong Giang, Tay Giang, Bac Tra My, Nong Son and Phuoc Son districts were simply burying untreated solid waste, including dangerous waste, on hospital grounds.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment?s Environmental Division vice head Le Thi Tuyet Hanh said that many hospitals kept discharging untreated wastewater into the surrounding rivers and canals due to a shortage of treatment systems, polluting residential areas nearby.
"These hospitals lack financial support to set up their systems, as an incinerator may cost billions of dong," Hanh said.
Wastewater from Dien Ban district?s General Hospital, for example, has been discharged directly into the Vinh Dien River, polluting the Vinh Dien Waterworks supply to more than 15,000 households for many years.
The hospital?s sewage pipelines are 400m away from the waterway?s water filter system.
"Waste and dirty water from the river usually overflow into my house during the rainy season. Even medical dressings find their way in," said resident Vo Thi Dang.
The hospital?s director, Nguyen Cong Tan, admitted to the situation, saying that the waste treatment system had been out-of-order and the hospital needed funds to build a new one.
Pham Nguyen Cam Thach, director of the Department of Health, said that the project on building a waste treatment system for the hospital had been approved, but it would take at least a year to finish construction.
The only medical waste incinerator in Quang Nam General Hospital, the biggest hospital in the province, has been overloaded for eight years and is now downgraded. Dust, ashes and terrible smells from the machine?s chimneys have consistently annoyed local residents in An My Ward, in Tam Ky City for many years.
Resident Tran Thi Phuong said that all families closed their doors and windows to avoid the smells from the incinerator, which operated twice per day during meal times.
Le Van Chinh, headmaster of Tran Cao Van Secondary School in Tam Ky city, where roughly 2,000 teachers and students were studying and lecturing, said that he was forced to move students to the March 24 Square for physical activities instead of the schoolyard near the hospital to assure their health.
Pham Dinh Liem, a representative of Quang Nam General Hospital, said that the waste treatment system was built in 2001 with a capacity of 200kg of waste per day, but the provincial Department of Health required the hospital to destroy all solid medical waste from other hospitals in the province, raising its capacity to 400-450kg per day.
"We were forced to shorten the burning time from three to two hours," said Liem.
He said that many hospitals did not separate household disposal from dangerous medical waste, which also made the smell worse.
The hospital?s director, Pham Ngoc Chuong, explained that some parts of the machine had been broken since early 2009, causing black smoke and dust.
He also said that the hospital had proposed to the provincial Department of Health and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that they install two new incinerators in remote areas in Nui Thanh and Dien Ban districts to treat the solid waste from 22 hospitals and to protect the environment.
Previously, the incinerator, to international standards, was confirmed as an environmentally-friendly product.
23:16' 08/06/2009 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge ? Only four among 22 hospitals in central Quang Nam province are equipped with waste treatment facilities, and only one has a standard incinerator, posing a severe threat to the environment and residents? health.
Nguyen Thu, head of the provincial Environment Police Department, said that three general hospitals in Hiep Duc, Que Son and Nam Tra My districts were using low-quality incinerators to burn medical waste. Six hospitals in Nam Giang, Dong Giang, Tay Giang, Bac Tra My, Nong Son and Phuoc Son districts were simply burying untreated solid waste, including dangerous waste, on hospital grounds.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment?s Environmental Division vice head Le Thi Tuyet Hanh said that many hospitals kept discharging untreated wastewater into the surrounding rivers and canals due to a shortage of treatment systems, polluting residential areas nearby.
"These hospitals lack financial support to set up their systems, as an incinerator may cost billions of dong," Hanh said.
Wastewater from Dien Ban district?s General Hospital, for example, has been discharged directly into the Vinh Dien River, polluting the Vinh Dien Waterworks supply to more than 15,000 households for many years.
The hospital?s sewage pipelines are 400m away from the waterway?s water filter system.
"Waste and dirty water from the river usually overflow into my house during the rainy season. Even medical dressings find their way in," said resident Vo Thi Dang.
The hospital?s director, Nguyen Cong Tan, admitted to the situation, saying that the waste treatment system had been out-of-order and the hospital needed funds to build a new one.
Pham Nguyen Cam Thach, director of the Department of Health, said that the project on building a waste treatment system for the hospital had been approved, but it would take at least a year to finish construction.
The only medical waste incinerator in Quang Nam General Hospital, the biggest hospital in the province, has been overloaded for eight years and is now downgraded. Dust, ashes and terrible smells from the machine?s chimneys have consistently annoyed local residents in An My Ward, in Tam Ky City for many years.
Resident Tran Thi Phuong said that all families closed their doors and windows to avoid the smells from the incinerator, which operated twice per day during meal times.
Le Van Chinh, headmaster of Tran Cao Van Secondary School in Tam Ky city, where roughly 2,000 teachers and students were studying and lecturing, said that he was forced to move students to the March 24 Square for physical activities instead of the schoolyard near the hospital to assure their health.
Pham Dinh Liem, a representative of Quang Nam General Hospital, said that the waste treatment system was built in 2001 with a capacity of 200kg of waste per day, but the provincial Department of Health required the hospital to destroy all solid medical waste from other hospitals in the province, raising its capacity to 400-450kg per day.
"We were forced to shorten the burning time from three to two hours," said Liem.
He said that many hospitals did not separate household disposal from dangerous medical waste, which also made the smell worse.
The hospital?s director, Pham Ngoc Chuong, explained that some parts of the machine had been broken since early 2009, causing black smoke and dust.
He also said that the hospital had proposed to the provincial Department of Health and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that they install two new incinerators in remote areas in Nui Thanh and Dien Ban districts to treat the solid waste from 22 hospitals and to protect the environment.
Previously, the incinerator, to international standards, was confirmed as an environmentally-friendly product.
