Most hospitals have poor waste management<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The city administration will send warning letters to many of the
\ncity's 99 hospitals for failing to manage their waste properly.<\/p>\n
The city's environmental management body, BPLHD, warned the
\nhospitals on Wednesday to improve their waste treatment
\nfacilities or face sanctions.<\/p>\n
"The majority of these hospitals received bad marks in how
\nthey manage their dangerous waste," the head of the BPLHD's
\nenvironmental impact prevention division, Ridwan Panjaitan, said.<\/p>\n
Ridwan said his office had assessed 55 of the city's 99
\nhospitals, and found that only four managed their liquid and
\nsolid waste well. Twelve others adequately managed their waste
\nwhile the remaining 39 hospitals poorly managed their waste.<\/p>\n
He said that among the 39 hospitals were an eye center in
\nCentral Jakarta, two maternal and children's hospitals in East
\nJakarta and West Jakarta, and a top hospital belonging to a
\nstate-owned enterprise in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
A hospital belonging to a private university in North Jakarta
\nand another hospital in West Jakarta also were found to manage
\ntheir waste poorly, Ridwan said.<\/p>\n
He said his office would take action against hospitals that
\nfailed to improve their waste management.<\/p>\n
The first step is to issue three warning letters to the
\nhospitals in question, giving them three months to improve their
\nwaste management, he said.<\/p>\n
If hospitals fail to improve their waste management, the city
\nwill close disposal access to their surrounding areas and run an
\nannouncement in newspapers about conditions at the hospitals, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Ridwan also warned that the city administration would take
\nlegal action against the management of any hospital that refused
\nto cooperate in resolving waste problems.<\/p>\n
"There is a strong legal basis to take action against
\nenvironmental violators," he said.<\/p>\n
The administration has yet to bring any part to court for
\nviolating environmental laws.<\/p>\n
According to Article 41 of Law No. 23\/1997 on the environment,
\nthose damaging the environment can receive a maximum sentence of
\n10 years in jail and a maximum fine of Rp 500 million
\n(US$60,240). However, if the damage leads to death the maximum
\nsentence is 15 years in jail and a fine of Rp 750 million.<\/p>\n
Ridwan said the administration would honor the four hospitals
\nfound to manage their waste properly during a ceremony to be
\nattended by Governor Sutiyoso next month.<\/p>\n
But he refused to reveal the names of the hospitals. "We
\ncannot announce them yet because the assessment process is still
\nnot final."<\/p>\n
Ridwan stressed the importance of waste management for
\nhospitals, saying the waste could spread disease if improperly
\nhandled.<\/p>\n
He said clinical and radiological waste could be extremely
\ndangerous to people living near hospitals if the waste was not
\nmanaged properly.<\/p>\n
Radiological waste from hospitals can cause various diseases,
\nincluding cancer, while clinical waste can spread diseases from
\npatients treated at the hospitals.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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