Bahrain plans to crack down on the mismanagement of dangerous medical waste, reported the Gulf Daily News on Saturday.
Offenders will be taken to court and risk heavy fines of up to BD50,000 ($132,000) if they continue to break the law, said the paper.
The Environment Supervision Directorate chief, Jomaa Kaabi, said that “each day, about four tons of dangerous medical waste is produced in Bahrain; 75 percent of it at Salmaniya Medical Complex.”
He said Minister of State for Municipalities and Environmental Affairs Jawad Al Arrayed had ordered the creation of a rigorous system to control the process of producing, stocking, transporting and incinerating the waste.
The new system, which will be drawn up by a special environmental panel, will come into effect within the next two years, he said.
The ministerial order will then allow hospitals, health centers, private clinics and other institutions a six-month interim period to bring their waste management practices into line with the new regulations.
They will first have to categorize the dangerous waste, using special stickers detailing the nature of hazardous materials and the extent of the possible danger they pose to public health, the official added.
“Waste deemed dangerous would then have to be stocked carefully before its destruction in an incinerator within 24 hours.”
Hospitals, health centers and private clinics will have to keep a meticulous register detailing their handling of the dangerous waste.
A panel of environmental inspectors will be delegated by the ministry to check their registers regularly, he said – Albawaba.com
