The Ministry of Health says it will investigate the origin of blood vials and other medical waste which have been washing up on Cayman’s beaches.
In an emailed statement to the Cayman Compass following the publication of stories of blood vials, vaccine bottles and hypodermic needles being found on local beaches, the ministry said, “Ministry of Health officials are aware of the public’s understandable concern about the medical waste found on beaches island wide following recent rough seas.
“Once it can be granted sight of the labelled materials described by the article, the Ministry is committed to liaising with the local healthcare industry to confirm whether the waste originated from any locally licensed medical facilities, and will report the findings of its investigations in due course.”
The Compass has forwarded a number of photographs of labels on the blood vials to the ministry. It is unclear what action, if any, the ministry can take if it determines that the vials do not originate locally.
Several members of the public have contacted the Compass since the passing of Tropical Storm Eta earlier this month to report finding medical waste on beaches.
And Plastic Free Cayman volunteers found several vials of blood during Pirates Week clean-ups over the weekend.
In a statement about its latest clean-ups at Consuelo’s Beach and South Sound Dock, the group said, “Sadly, several vials of blood were (again) found on our beautiful coast. They were collected and properly disposed of. This is becoming more common as countries continue to struggle to implement proper waste disposal systems.”
The Ministry of Health has offered advice to the public on what to do if they find medical waste.
It said the Health Services Authority has special containers “for the disposal of items potentially contaminated with infectious diseases at all of its facilities, although these are not for public use. Such material includes the blood vials, needles and syringes mentioned in the story.”
The ministry advised members of the public to exercise “extreme caution” when disposing of medical waste.
“They should ensure the material is double-bagged as soon as possible, and reach out to the Health Services Authority pharmacy, nearest district health clinic or Department of Environmental Health, to arrange to a drop off. Found medications should also be dropped off to the pharmacy,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Department of Environmental Health, which offers a bio-medical waste pick-up service to local labs, said it had received similar reports in the past of medical waste washing up on beaches, whenever Grand Cayman experiences rough seas.
The health ministry said detailed guidelines on how members of the public can safely dispose of bio-medical materials, including medications, are currently being developed by the Health Services Authority and DEH.
For further information about disposal of hazardous waste, people can contact the HSA Pharmacy at 949-8600, or DEH at 949-6696, or email [email protected].
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Curious to see what comes of this once the guilty parties are discovered and reported.
Continue your good journalism!
Is any of this med waste traceable ?Its a barn shame. I have NOT heard of any in recent years in NY or NJ, for a time it was really bad , but then some company paid to pick up & incenirate it was the culprit rather than MDs, or hospitals . Given the different areas, I wonder if was disposed of @ sea?