Pagsunog sa COVID-19 medical waste tinutulan
DISMAYADO ang isang environmental organization sa pagpayag ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources na sunugin ang mga coronavirus disease 2019-related medical wastes.
Ayon kay Glenn Ymata, ng No Burn Campaigner of the Break Free from Plastics (BFFP) Philippines, isang paglabag sa Clean Air Act ang desisyon ng DENR.
“Global health experts recognize that disinfection and sterilization are successful in killing COVID- 19 pathogens. The DENR should not make this pandemic as an excuse to promote dangerous waste treatment practices,” ani Ymata.
Ipinalabas ng Environment Management Bureau-DENR, ang isang memorandum noong Marso 26 upang gamitin umano ang crematoria sa mga COVID-19 related waste. Nakasaad din umano roon ang paggamit ng chlorine at sterilization devices gaya ng autoclaves at hydroclaves.
“Burning of medical waste and materials with chlorinated solutions produce significant amounts of toxic pollutants such as dioxins and furans. The virus might be contained in the next weeks or months, but these pollutants will spread and stay in our environment for decades,” dagdag pa ni Ymata.
Ang dioxins at furans ay mga highly-toxic persistent organic pollutants na maaaring makapasok sa food chain kaya makararating sa katawan ng tao. Kapag naipon ay pinaniniwalaan na nagdudulot ito ng kanser at iba pang sakit.
Sinabi ng BFFP Philippines na dapat sundin ng DENR ang rekomendasyon ng World Health Organization upang hindi na madagdagan pa ang carcinogenic materials sa kalikasan.
Maaari umanong gamitin ang ginawa ni Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, isang Filipino-American WHO consultant, na gumawa ng non-burn waste treatment technology upang mapatay ang ebola virus sa mga medical waste ng hindi ito sinusunog.
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