The Kaduna Environmental Protection Authority (KEPA) has evacuated 560 tonnes of medical wastes.
Usman Lawal, Director, Monitoring and Enforcement Compliance of KEPA disclosed this on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
Lawal said the agency in conjunction with the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Development Board also treated and destroyed expired drugs at its dumpsites.
He said that only four medical facilities owned incinerators within the metropolis to burn potential infectious wastes generated by hospitals.
“Only the state general hospitals, national psychiatric medical centre, 44 Army reference hospital, NNPC medical centre and St Gerald’s hospitals have incinerators.
“The poor management of medical wastes potentially exposed health care workers, waste handlers, patients and the community to infectious diseases.
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“It is essential that all medical wastes materials are segregated at the point of generation, appropriately treated and disposed safely.”
He said KEPA engaged the services of some private medical waste disposal companies to ensure evacuation of medical waste from hospitals across the state.
“We are going to ensure that private companies engaged are properly monitored to move the refuse to KEPA dumpsites and various incinerators located in the state,’’ he said.
He said the agency will continue to sensitise and inspect more hospital facilities to ensure compliance to safety standards. (NAN)