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FROM
CUBA
Medical waste left untreated in open dump
SANTA CLARA, Cuba - January
9 (Alain Ramón Gómez Ramos,
Cubanacán Press / www.cubanet.org)
- Medical waste from health facilities in
Sagua la Grande is being dumped alongside
common refuse at the municipal dump just
outside the city, a human rights activist
said here.
It is not known how long the practice has
been going on.
According to Abelardo Sosa, the hospital,
clinics and doctors' offices in the city
don't have means of burning the contaminated
waste, so it ends up mixed with ordinary
waste in the dump.
The practice, which violates national and
international standards according to Sosa,
imperils the 12 people employed at the dump,
as well as many others who routinely rummage
through the refuse looking for recyclable
materials and anything that could potentially
be of some use.
The medical waste, said Sosa, is carted
daily to the dump in horse-drawn carriages
operated by the department of municipal
services.
Versión
original en español
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