Calin Georgescu, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and
toxic waste, issued a href=”http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/HRC/18/31”
target=”_blank”>report in which he warned that the world
is not paying enough attention to the problems caused by medical
waste.

“Some 20 to 25 per cent of the total waste generated by
health-care establishments is regarded as hazardous and may create
a variety of health and environmental risks if not managed and
disposed of in an appropriate manner,” he said.

Medical waste can include a wide range of hazardous materials,
such as infectious waste, anatomical and pathological waste,
obsolete or expired chemical products and pharmaceuticals,
radioactive materials and so-called “sharps,” medical instruments
or devices that are no longer used.

The problem is rising particularly quickly in developing
countries, where the amount of waste being generated is rising
rapidly as health-care services in those States are expanded, and
the technological and financial tools to ensure the waste is
managed responsibly may not exist.

“In health-care establishments where hazardous medical waste is
incinerated, open burning and widespread deficiencies in the
operation and management of small-scale medical waste incinerators
result in incomplete waste destruction, inappropriate ash disposal
and dioxins emissions, which can be even 40,000 times higher than
emission limits set forth in international conventions,” Mr.
Georgescu said.

The Special Rapporteur noted that contaminated sharps attract
the most attention, with needle-stick injuries exposing people to
blood-borne pathogens such as the hepatitis B virus, the hepatitis
C virus and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

“However, each type of hazardous medical waste presents hazards
that jeopardize the enjoyment of human rights.”

Mr. Georgescu has made a series of recommendations to reduce the
threat posed by medical waste, including proposing the development
of an international legal regime to manage and dispose such waste
and replacing incineration as a disposal method with more
environmentally-friendly methods. 

href=”http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/18session/A-HRC-18-31_en.pdf”
target=”_blank”>Check the full report presented to the UN Human
Rights Council.