Health Care Without Harm Competition Low-cost Technology for Sharps and Infectious Waste Management

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Health Care Without Harm CompetitionLow-cost
Technology for Sharps and Infectious Waste
Management

• SIGN/Technet 2001
• Susan Wilburn
• Jorge Emmanuel

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Health Care Without Harm300 Member
Organizations 33 Countries

• Mission To transform the health care industry
  so it is no longer a source of environmental harm
  by eliminating pollution in health care practices
  without compromising safety or care.
• Join by agreeing to the mission and goals.
• www.noharm.org

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Health Care Without Harm Goals

• Promoting comprehensive pollution
• prevention practices.
• Supporting the development and use of
  environmentally safe materials, technology and
  products.
• Educating and informing health care institutions,
  providers, workers, consumers, and all affected
  constituencies about the environmental and public
  health impacts of the health care industry and
  solutions to these problems.

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Project Goals

• To develop alternative medical waste technologies
  for rural areas
• To educate about problems of medical waste
• To provide government health ministries and ngos
  with alternative treatment technologies that they
  can promote and recommend

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Why Alternative Technologies? Volume and
Toxicity

• WHO Requirement for Disposable Syringes Creates
  Waste (volume)
• Medical Waste Incineration contaminates the
  environment with mercury and creates dioxin
  (toxicity)

FOR MORE INFO...
For more information, guidelines, specifications
and timetable www.noharm.org
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Health Effects of Incineration Dioxin and
Mercury

• Dioxin is a known human carcinogen
• Reproductive hazard
• Developmental neurotoxin
• Endocrine disruption
• Immune suppress

• Mercury is a neurotoxicant
• CNS damage to developing fetuses and young
  children
• Prenatal exposure leads to mental retardation

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Why Alternative Technologies?Political
Imperative POPs Treaty 2001

• India PVC burn ban
• Philippines incinerator ban
• Czech Republic end medical waste in municipal
  incin
• So. Africa commun choice autoclave
• US EPA Air Regs Result in Closure