Most hospitals have poor waste management
Most hospitals have poor waste management
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The city administration will send warning letters to many of the
city's 99 hospitals for failing to manage their waste properly.
The city's environmental management body, BPLHD, warned the
hospitals on Wednesday to improve their waste treatment
facilities or face sanctions.
"The majority of these hospitals received bad marks in how
they manage their dangerous waste," the head of the BPLHD's
environmental impact prevention division, Ridwan Panjaitan, said.
Ridwan said his office had assessed 55 of the city's 99
hospitals, and found that only four managed their liquid and
solid waste well. Twelve others adequately managed their waste
while the remaining 39 hospitals poorly managed their waste.
He said that among the 39 hospitals were an eye center in
Central Jakarta, two maternal and children's hospitals in East
Jakarta and West Jakarta, and a top hospital belonging to a
state-owned enterprise in South Jakarta.
A hospital belonging to a private university in North Jakarta
and another hospital in West Jakarta also were found to manage
their waste poorly, Ridwan said.
He said his office would take action against hospitals that
failed to improve their waste management.
The first step is to issue three warning letters to the
hospitals in question, giving them three months to improve their
waste management, he said.
If hospitals fail to improve their waste management, the city
will close disposal access to their surrounding areas and run an
announcement in newspapers about conditions at the hospitals, he
said.
Ridwan also warned that the city administration would take
legal action against the management of any hospital that refused
to cooperate in resolving waste problems.
"There is a strong legal basis to take action against
environmental violators," he said.
The administration has yet to bring any part to court for
violating environmental laws.
According to Article 41 of Law No. 23/1997 on the environment,
those damaging the environment can receive a maximum sentence of
10 years in jail and a maximum fine of Rp 500 million
(US$60,240). However, if the damage leads to death the maximum
sentence is 15 years in jail and a fine of Rp 750 million.
Ridwan said the administration would honor the four hospitals
found to manage their waste properly during a ceremony to be
attended by Governor Sutiyoso next month.
But he refused to reveal the names of the hospitals. "We
cannot announce them yet because the assessment process is still
not final."
Ridwan stressed the importance of waste management for
hospitals, saying the waste could spread disease if improperly
handled.
He said clinical and radiological waste could be extremely
dangerous to people living near hospitals if the waste was not
managed properly.
Radiological waste from hospitals can cause various diseases,
including cancer, while clinical waste can spread diseases from
patients treated at the hospitals.