It is reported that Nanjing Qixia police cracked the first case of medical waste pollution in Nanjing. 13.5 tons medical wastes were seized at the scene. The suspects purchased and sold totally more than 3,000 tons of medical wastes. It is been shocked that, these medical wastes were finally made of disposable plastic dinner plates and inferior children's toys after several times hands changing.
Different from domestic waste, medical waste, such as infusion bag, infusion tube and infusion bottle, contains a large number of bacteria, viruses and chemicals. It has strong infectivity, biological toxicity and corrosiveness. If the medical waste without any treatment or incomplete treatment piled up arbitrarily, it is easy to cause pollution to water, soil and air. In addition, it directly or indirectly harms human body. And it could also be the source of epidemics.
Although the law clearly stipulates that medical waste is not allowed to be disposed freely. And the harm of medical waste is very clear. But, we still cannot forbid the metamorphosis of medical waste. It is imperative for us to explore a feasible accountability mechanism for the health of ourselves and our future generations.
Without exaggeration, medical waste management is a complex systematic engineering. Reviewing the existing problems at present stage in medical waste treatment in our country, we can get to know we are in the primary stage. The technology is not mature; the management is not strict; and the environmental pollution is still serious. Compared with European countries, the management of medical waste started relatively late in China. Passed in 1995, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Solid Waste Pollution has the content of hazardous waste management. In 2003, The Regulations on Medical Waste Management was promulgated. Though there are special regulations for the management of medical waste, the relevant management is not specific enough in reality. So, it is imperative to learn from the excellent experience of domestic and foreign medical waste management.
Let’s take Britain as an example. In Britain, the classification of medical wastes is strict. It has a corresponding treatment for each type of waste. Medical needles, broken glass and other medical sharp instruments that are contacted with infectious patients, must be packed into a yellow sharp weapon collection box, sealed, isolated, preserved and all incinerated. For abandoned drugs should be disposed by special agencies. The abandoned solid waste drugs, a small amount of vascular injections and vaccines were suggested incinerated. In contrast, on our Regulations on Medical Waste Management, although there are provisions of medical waste collection, transportation, storage, disposal activities and management supervision, but it is still not refined and quantified enough.
The problem is not terrible; the important is to find the specific way. First, we should learn the excellent experience of domestic and foreign medical waste management strengthening the auxiliary service construction of medical waste management. At the same time, we should speed up the process of legal system building, improving supervision and management, and establishing an effective medical waste management system. What’s the important is clear the specific supervision department making detailed provisions for the specific items, events, and forms. In addition, it is matched with strict law enforcement personnel and unified punishment measures. Improving the consciousness of national participation in daily life, let the concept of health care be popular.
