Biological hazards posed by infectious waste from Pangasinan hospitals: COA

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GOVERNMENT auditors have warned of potential biological health hazards from five devolved hospitals in the province of Pangasinan after discovering improper handling and

disposal of used laboratory and surgical supplies as well as human waste.
Based on the 2019 audit of Pangasinan released last June 5, the hospitals are located in Alaminos City, San Carlos City, Mangatarem, Tayug and Lingayen.

Waste generated by the first four hospitals is collected by the municipal or city governments where they are located while those of the Lingayen District Hospital are handled by the provincial government.

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“It was noted that infectious wastes such as vials, needles, ampules, used gloves and IV (intravenous) lines and the like were not regularly disposed of thru a transport facility but were stored at infectious waste storage area/chamber and some were disposed of in the septic vaults,” the audit team said.

“Placenta and pathological wastes were disposed of in the placenta pit. Inquiry from the pollution control officers revealed that there was no accredited transporter that will collect, transport and dispose properly the infectious wastes generated by the hospitals,” it added.

The Commission on Audit noted that Pangasinan has submitted a 10-year Provincial Solid Waste Management Plan in compliance with RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. The province declared its vision to have “residents and visitors enjoy a clean, litter-free, green, beautiful and healthful community.”

However, it has failed to put up the required materials recovery facilities (MRFs) to segregate bio-degradable from non-bio-degradable/non-recyclable waste.

The province also has no sanitary landfill of its own for the permanent disposal of garbage generated by residents and establishments.

Instead it has entered into a contract with the Metro Clark Waste Management (MCWM) Corp. to dump its trash for P850 per ton at the landfill located in Clark Special Economic Zone (sub-zone D) in Capas, Tarlac. The contract expired on December 31, 2019 but is subject to renewal.

Auditors said the contract with MCWM is at best a temporary solution to a continuing problem.

“In case the disposal agreement is revoked or failed to be renewed for any cause or reason, unattended or improperly disposed solid waste could be a threat to the environment and health hazard to the public in general,” the COA warned.

In a separate Value for Money audit, questioned were raised on the procurement by the provincial government of three medical waste autoclave/microwaves with built in shredder for the total cost of P65.992 million.

The machines, acquired from Variance Trading Corp., uses saturated steam as a sterilizing agent to kill microorganisms and render hospital wastes harmless. It supposedly eliminates the risks of contamination to people and the environment.

According to the inspection and corroboration report by the audit team, the waste become harmless after full processing and may be disposed of as ordinary household waste.

However, auditors noted that one of the machines was delivered to the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital on July 26, 2018 but was installed for use only in January 2020. The other two machines with a combined value of P43.995 million delivered on May 17, 2019 to the Western Pangasinan District Hospital and Eastern Pangasinan District Hospital remain unused because the necessary electrical connections and water supply have not been installed.

“The machines should have been operational at the time these were delivered and installed at the three district hospitals to maximize usage and productive hours. Thus, accumulated hospital wastes would have been treated and disposed of properly minimizing disposal costs and ensuring safe and clean environment,” the COA said.

The provincial government said it has set aside P5 million under the 2020 budget for the construction of a sanitary landfill.

For hospital wastes, it promised to avail of a qualified transport facility accredited by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources — Environmental Management Bureau to take charge of the treatment and proper disposal of all hazardous and infections waste.

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