CAIRO: The Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs filed a complaint against Ain Shams Specialized Hospital at the office of the Attorney General after it found 20 tons of illegal hospital waste in its possession.
According to a ministry press statement, the ministry was making a spot check at the hospital when it came across the violation.
According to Law 4 of 1994, medical centers and hospitals are not allowed to keep or use medical waste without a prior agreement with both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs.
On its surprise visit, the ministry also discovered that the hospital’s incinerator has been out of service for over five years, despite several warnings from the ministry to maintain it.
Last week, the environmental affairs ministry found illegal medical waste in two medical laboratories, five clinics and a private hospital in Assiut, according to a ministry statement.
Earlier this month, it impounded 33 tons of hospital waste slated to be illegally used by two factories in the manufacture of toys and cotton upholstery.
The ministry had targeted two factories in Helwan after receiving complaints from citizens in the area.
The seized items included blood-stained cotton wool, bed linen and used diapers.
Dr Akram Al-Shaer, MP and ex-deputy of the People’s Assembly’s health committee, told Daily News Egypt in a previous interview that “a stricter law needs to be implemented in such cases . because [hospital waste] constitutes a direct and major threat to the health of Egyptian citizens.
