Faulty incinerator: Hazardous gas leak poses health risk

Clinical waste including syringes, gloves allegedly being disposed of in open.

RAWALPINDI:

An incinerator installed at Holy Family Hospital (HFH) has again developed faults, resulting in a hazardous gas leakage which may pose serious health risks.

An HFH technician requesting anonymity said that the fault had surfaced two months ago.

“We have informed the hospital administration about the fault but no steps have been taken yet,” he said, adding that the low supply of gas to the machine triggered the problem.

“Over 200kg solid waste is generated by the allied hospitals on a daily basis and the same amount of waste is collected from private clinics and hospitals,” said the technician.

The incinerator was installed in 2006 at a cost of Rs20 million to dispose of hospital waste and avoid reusing syringes, drips and blood bags.

Medical waste from the Nuclear Medicine Oncology and Radiotherapy Research Institute (NORI), Railway Hospital and a few private hospitals in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Gujar Khan is being sent to the incinerator.

“The gases that are leaking out of the machine may put patients and residents of the adjoining areas at serious risk,” said the technician.

The Express Tribune has also learnt that some chemical waste is disposed of in an open area outside the hospital’s premises.

Syringes, utility gloves and intravenous sets made out of polyvinyl chloride-rich plastics that are potentially contaminated with blood borne pathogens are among the forms of waste thrown out.

Rawalpindi Medical College students have held protests against the waste disposal, which they say provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

However, HFH Medical Superintendent Dr Arshad Sabir rejected the claims of the technician and said the machine is functioning properly.

“The waste that is dumped is not chemical,” said Sabir.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2013.