Hospital waste should not be incinerated, says Ibama.
The official in charge of the operation that fined the company importing American hospital waste says the material needs to be returned to the United States; the ship that transported it will also be fined R$2 million.
The hospital waste from the United States, seized last week and destined for a garment manufacturing company in the Agreste region of Pernambuco, causes not only economic and health damage, but experts also point to the risk the material poses to the environment. According to Gustavo Moreira, coordinator of Environmental Emergencies at IBAMA Pernambuco, responsible for the operation that fined the company importing the American hospital waste, the material needs to be returned to the United States and not incinerated, in order to avoid contamination of the ozone layer.
"Ibama's role is to return the 46 tons of material seized in the containers to the United States. As for the approximately 25 tons that we found and seized at the three units of the company that imported the material, unfortunately, it cannot be returned. The alternative is to hire a company specializing in incineration so that the procedure is carried out with minimal damage to the environment," explained Moreira.
According to the expert, the company has already received six other containers from the United States of products with the same characteristics. Moreira also explained that among the seized items are boots, masks, sheets, and pillowcases, some of them with traces of blood, feces, and urine. Upon shutting down the Pernambuco-based company, Ibama fined its three units – Santa Cruz do Capibaribe, Caruaru, and Toritama – R$ 2 million each for the environmental damage caused.
The ship that transported the waste is also being fined R$2 million. For now, it is still unknown what will happen to the American company, since the United States has not signed the Basel Convention, which establishes mechanisms for transboundary control of hazardous waste and its disposal, thus exempting the country from following the rules adopted by other countries, including Brazil, that have adhered to the international document.
"What's happening is a coordinated effort through Itamaraty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and now the government of Pernambuco, to ensure that the seized material is indeed returned and, in some way, the American company is held accountable," concluded Gustavo Moreira.