Late on Wednesday afternoon‚ the Department of Environmental Affairs gave an exemption to waste management companies to dispose the meat in hazardous waste landfills rather than in medical waste sites.
"Usually infectious products are classified as medical waste‚" said Schoonrad. However‚ Schoonrad said‚ medical waste facilities in South Africa are not designed to deal with so much waste.
He said waste companies had been waiting for permission to dispose of the polony without classifying it as a medical waste product.
The department of environmental affairs letter to waste companies reads: "The receiving waste site must undertake a risk assessment and submit a risk management plan to the department demonstrating that the proposed management option will ensure that the waste is managed in such a way that it no longer poses a risk to human and animal health or the environment."
The letter is signed by department of environmental affairs chief director in hazardous waste management and licencing.
"Four thousand tons is not substantial for a hazardous site‚" said Schoonrad‚ saying a disposal would only take a few days.
A hazardous site has strict access control unlike a municipal landfill‚ he said.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-03-08-listeriosis-outbreak-4000-tons-of-cold-meat-headed-for-hazardous-waste-sites/Bagikan Berita Ini
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