United States' Creative Way to Get Rid of Hospital Waste and Make a Buck: Exporting It to Brazil, page

United States' Creative Way to Get Rid of Hospital Waste and Make a Buck: Exporting It to Brazil

www.brazzilmag.com

In the United States somebody found out he could solve the problem of hospital waste management by exporting the stuff to Brazil. Tons of it have been arriving in containers labeled "defective fabric." Among bloody bed sheets and dirty diapers - dirty with you-know-what - are used syringes and catheters.

The governor of Pernambuco, where the stuff landed, says the people responsible for the sale of hospital waste is the US customs agency and that he intends to get the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations to do something about it.

(visit the link for the full news article)

What is that, you say? The U.S. government would never allow a company to sell waste for consumption (as has been claimed for years in the case of Fluoride)? This article is proof that they absolutely would, and have. A Brazlian company called Na Intimidade ("Intimacy") has been shipping tons (literally! 46 tons this year so far) of U.S. hospital waste to Brazil, where it is being made into clothing and, more commonly, pockets. According to the link, this waste includes "bedsheets, dressing gowns, scrub suits, pajamas, pillowcases, bath towels, aprons, baby clothing and diapers - along with gloves, syringes, needles, bandages, gauze and catheters," all used and dirty, many covered in blood, urine, and feces. The waste is shipped out of the port of Charleston, South Carolina and labelled "Defective Fabric." I'm sure Customs will have plausible deniability ("Oh, we cannot POSSIBLY check ALL of our shipments!"), but someone surely had to know this was going on and allowed it to happen.
I know it is not the same as adding Fluoride to our water, but in my mind, it is similar. Both this hospital waste and Fluoride (or whatever variant of it makes its way into our water supply) are WASTE, waste that is sold, despite its dangerous nature, to entities willing to unleash it on an unsuspecting public. In the case of both, profit is being made on something that is not only useless but also costly to dispose of. How convenient. This needs to stop!

www.brazzilmag.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by MentalPriapism

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Very interesting. Looks like someone making a profit off of this will now need to ship their waste to some place other than Brazil.

To play advocate for the devil: This may sound bad but do we know if it really is? If the material was properly sanitized and the waste portions was properly removed and disposed of we have found a green alternative that promotes recycling for material that would have otherwise been burned or burred contributing to pollution or landfills.

The US regularly ships waste overseas where it can be recycled and reused as a form of cheap raw material. Hell most municipal garbage collection agencies do this with the "Recycle" waste bins. This is actually a traded commodity.

So why is this evil? It sounds scary and should probably be evaluated as to the sterilization processes used but otherwise I think Brazil would be stupid to stop it. If they do China or some other country will pick up this resource for cheap linens.

Now thats me playing devil's advocate. my first reaction was something like "Ewwww yucky"

reply to post by MentalPriapism

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This is not a unique case, the problem is not in the USA (even if the export should have been noticed and the hospital should have checked the company doing the disposal. This problem has also occurred in Europe, the blame is all on the company that imported the goods against the local law (and often at the origin also). The objective was to recycle the cotton fabric, the main problem is that hospital waste is dangerous in its nature and the final consumers not informed.

Should hospital waste be recycled ? I think that the reason it isn't is because it would be too costly to do it safely...

reply to post by Jinglelord

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This is my whole thought on this.

When disposing of biohazard, linens are to be separated (in most places I have been) from trash and sharps. If they are claiming that there are sharps in the linen boxes, then that is a process failure at the point of disposal by the nurse/doctor/technician. Sharps are to be sequestered into a separate, puncture proof container that will not allow any "leakage" (where the syringe falls back out). As well, every single sharp should be uncapped, as putting caps back on in a risk that is unnecessary.

BUt for linens to be separated, placed in a chemical bath, and recycled is not something I have a problem with.

reply to post by MentalPriapism

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The greatest contamination danger is prions or misfolded proteins. The sterilization and decontamination procedures that kill viruses, bacteria and other microbes actually create prions, or cause them to mutate and evolve into new strains. No way can a developing country decontaminate fabric for prions without destroying the fabric. …Maybe no one can.

Some (very) quick pick references:

1995 - Defective Protein Folding as the Basis of Human Disease

Heat Changes Protein Structure

Proteins

Protein folding diseases

Potential for chemical sterilization of prions

Prions are highly resistant to chemical sterilization. Treatment with aldehydes (e.g., formaldehyde) have actually been shown to increase prion resistance. Hydrogen peroxide (3%) for one hour was shown to be ineffective, providing less than 3 logs (10−3) reduction in contamination. Iodine, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and peracetic acid also fail this test (one hour treatment). Only chlorine, a phenolic compound, guanidinium thiocyanate, and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) reduce prion levels by more than 4 logs. Chlorine and NaOH are the most consistent agents for prions. Chlorine is too corrosive to use on certain objects. Sodium hydroxide has had many studies showing its effectiveness.

Great catch. S&F&

reply to post by soficrow

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In your link, it says that chlorine is a good way to destroy prions. Chlorine would likely be what is being used in any third world country, with water nearing the 200 degree mark (if you don't get chlorine above 140 degrees it won't "activate" and will not work. It will usually stay on your cloths, turning them yellow in the dryer. Lessons learned running a hotel).

I still don't see a problem here.

BTW, the prion thing is something that has fascinated me since the mid 90's. I would like to see additional research done, as i think it is the disease powder keg.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

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Chlorine would destroy the fabric before it killed the prions - the concentrations needed are too high. ...It's almost impossible to destroy prions - and no third world manufacturer of cheap clothing is going to cover the expense.

You're right btw - prion diseases already are pandemic. And practices like these are just one of the reasons why.

reply to post by torsion

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Yeah, like "cracklins" out of discarded foreskins and other human dermal waste.

"Dahmer's Cracklin's:Tastes Better Than What's Left. NOW IN MELANOMA CHEESE FLAVOR"

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