Disposable syringes, infusion tubes, glass medicine bottles... In the deep mountains of Puning City, Guangdong Province, medical waste is piled up in the open air without any protective treatment, and it is roughly estimated that there are as many as 10 tons. Where does this medical waste come from? Where does it go?

On May 28, Puning City reported that 5 people have been criminally detained by the police for suspected illegal sale, transportation and storage of dangerous substances. As the investigation deepened, a black profit chain of illegal trafficking of medical waste was uncovered.

Medical waste was found in the deep mountains and old forests, randomly piled up without any protection

Since the beginning of this year, villagers in Nanyang Village, Meilin Town, Puning City, Guangdong Province have found a large amount of medical waste in the deep mountains and old forests, roughly estimated to be as much as 10 tons. Disposable syringes and infusion tubes, various test tubes, glass medicine bottles... These randomly piled medical wastes have no protection, and the villagers are worried that they will bring infectious diseases.

According to villagers, the medical waste on the mountain mainly comes from hospitals in Foshan, judging from the labels. They reported that some people hired women farmers to sort the medical waste on the mountain, and sold the sorted medical waste to nearby waste collection stations. Lihu Town, Puning City, is one of the two major plastic waste recycling and distribution centers in Guangdong Province.

These 10 tons of medical waste are just the "tip of the iceberg". The investigation found that in Foshan, there are special waste recycling stations or operators who recycle medical waste from hospitals.

Opposite the Genghe Branch of the People's Hospital of Gaoming District, Foshan City, outside an inconspicuous bungalow, there is a low sign that reads "waste recycling station". The owner said that although Foshan City has a strict ban on the recycling of medical waste, he has a good relationship with the hospital, so he can do this business.

In the medical waste storage room of Puning People's Hospital, there are also nurses picking out glass medicine bottles from the medical waste abandoned by various departments. According to them, glass medicine bottles cost 0.15 yuan each, and rubber bottle caps cost 1.4 yuan per pound. All the plastic infusion bottles in the hospital have been ordered by the waste collection station.

Local investigation launched, and relevant personnel were filed for prosecution

According to a doctor from the infectious department of a tertiary hospital in Guangdong, the leakage of medical waste may pose three hazards:

The first is the risk of infection, such as the risk of infection if someone is accidentally stabbed by a needle used for injection; the second is the chemical hazard of residual drugs in the infusion bottle, "If it is an anti-tumor drug or chemotherapy drug, it is very lethal to cells, and long-term or large-scale contact will cause cell degeneration"; the third aspect is the white pollution caused by plastic products.

In response to the discovery of a large amount of medical waste in Nanyang Village, the relevant person in charge of the Guangdong Provincial Health Department said that at present, the Medical Administration Department and the Health Supervision Department of the Health Department and other departments have organized supervision teams to go to Foshan and Puning for investigation.

The local party and government departments have also taken measures to launch an investigation.

The Puning Municipal Party Committee decided to suspend the director of Puning People's Hospital for inspection and file a case for investigation. The disciplinary inspection department will file a case against the director of Puning Health Bureau, the director of Environmental Protection Bureau and two vice presidents of the Municipal People's Hospital.

Currently, the Puning Public Security Bureau has set up a special task force to conduct a joint investigation into the suspected illegal sale of medical waste. On May 28, Wu Moujing, Chen Moushu, Qiu Moukun, Xie Mouzhuan, Zheng Moulan and other five people were criminally detained for suspected illegal sale, transportation and storage of dangerous substances. The investigation of the case is being stepped up.

The illegal medical waste recycling points in Lihu, Chiwei, Liaoyuan and other towns (streets) in Puning City have been sealed.

From the labels, a lot of medical waste hidden in Nanyang Village comes from Foshan. In this regard, Tan Guangming, deputy director of the Foshan Health Bureau, said that an investigation team has been set up to investigate various medical institutions and the channels for the outflow of medical waste. If it is found that there are indeed medical institutions in Foshan that violate the rules, they will be punished in accordance with the law.

The profit chain of medical waste recycling has surfaced

How do these medical wastes flow out of the hospital? Where do they flow to? Who are profiting from it?

A boss who has been operating a plastic waste collection station in Lihu Town for many years said that plastic recycling is one of the three pillar industries in Lihu Town, and there are more than 200 plastic waste collection stations in the whole Lihu. He roughly estimated that an average of 600 to 700 tons of plastic waste flow into Lihu every day, and medical waste may account for nearly 10%.

After recycling, various plastic wastes, including medical waste, are often broken into pieces and become "secondary materials", which are transported to some toy manufacturers and mixed into raw materials. Some manufacturers admitted that the price of "secondary materials" is more than 1,000 yuan cheaper per ton than raw materials, and many toys with no "three-no" products use "secondary materials".

As for glass medicine bottles, large bottles are broken into glass fragments and sold to glass factories as waste; small bottles can be sold directly as glass waste; medium bottles with a capacity of 250 ml are sold directly and reused after simple cleaning and disinfection.

In this profit chain, some hospital staff obtain actual benefits by illegally selling medical waste, and manufacturers who purchase plastic and glass waste reduce production costs, while buyers, waste stations, sorting stations, etc. who move around in it can also profit from it.

Industry insiders revealed that the acquisition cost of each ton of raw medical waste is only a few hundred yuan. The sorted syringes are sold to waste collection stations for about 6,000 yuan per ton, infusion bottles (bags) for nearly 7,000 yuan per ton, and infusion tubes for more than 6,000 yuan per ton.

There are loopholes in supervision and the management mechanism needs to be improved

Medical waste is called the number one hazardous waste. The "Medical Waste Management Regulations" clearly prohibit any unit or individual from transferring or buying and selling medical waste, and also prohibit dumping or stacking medical waste at non-storage locations or mixing medical waste with other waste and domestic garbage.

The director of a hospital in Guangzhou said that the Ministry of Health had issued a document to clarify that disposable medical devices after use are medical waste and should be sent by the hospital to a specialized agency for destruction; various glass (disposable plastic) infusion bottles (bags) that are not contaminated by the patient's blood, body fluids, and excrement can be handed over to qualified recycling companies for recycling, but they cannot be used for their original purpose. When used for other purposes, they should comply with the principle of not endangering human health.

In response to the "black hole" of medical waste recycling in Puning, some experts said that too light a punishment may be one of the reasons for the outflow of medical waste.

The Regulations on Medical Waste Management and the Administrative Penalties for Medical Waste Management stipulate that if medical waste is transferred or sold, the environmental protection administrative department of the local people's government at or above the county level shall order the transferor and the buyer to immediately stop the illegal behavior, give a warning, and confiscate the illegal gains; if the illegal gains are more than 5,000 yuan, a fine of more than 2 times but less than 5 times the illegal gains shall be imposed; if there are no illegal gains or the illegal gains are less than 5,000 yuan, a fine of more than 5,000 yuan but less than 20,000 yuan shall be imposed. "Catching the most fines" is the idea of many people engaged in illegal trafficking of medical waste.

In addition, a health department staff member told reporters that although the state has made detailed regulations and technical specifications for the collection, transportation, storage and disposal of medical waste, the specific operation is not easy. According to regulations, the health department has the functions of supervision and inspection of the treatment of medical waste in the jurisdiction, and has no power to punish.

The person in charge of a tertiary hospital in Foshan told reporters that the current medical waste management mechanism needs to be improved. The departments involved in medical waste management include health and epidemic prevention, urban environmental sanitation, and environmental protection. There are multiple departments with unclear responsibilities and powers, which may result in insufficient supervision.

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