Francisco Rivas Ríos.
While since 1994, the Environmental Protection Agency US (EPA, for its acronym in English) announced that medical waste incinerators were responsible for 40% of atmospheric dioxin contamination across the country, closing 99% of medical waste incinerators.
Moreover, while the World Health Organization recommends that waste containing PVC is not incinerated; and the Stockholm Convention, signed by over 150 countries, including many in our region, urges follow best environmental practices and best available techniques to reduce the amount of dioxin generated by incineration, the Ministry of Health (MINSA, for its acronym in Spanish) of Panama is preparing to authorize Urbalia SA, operator of the landfill of Cerro Patacón to implement a solid waste incinerator. For its part, the Ministry of Environment (MIAMBIENTE, for its acronym in Spanish) keeps a complete silence.
In statements given to the press, Mr. Juan Camilo Alvarez, Project Manager of the company Urbalia SA reports that Patacón Cerro Landfill receives daily from 2.300 to 2.400 tons of garbage from the Capital District of Panama and San Miguelito. The concession granted by the Panamanian government dates from 2008, and considering that the term is for 15 years, means that Urbalia SA will be in charge of the landfill until 2023.
To cope with the operation of the landfill, Urbalia SA charges $ 11.53 per ton ready. This means revenue of $ 812,865.00 per month ($ 9, 754,380.00 per year). Urbalia has not reported the cost per ton willing, so it is not possible to estimate profits, but their interest in remaining as dealer indicate that it is a profitable business.
However, in recent years, in an environment characterized by major fires in the landfill, which affected the population of the capital, government authorities have questioned the ability of the company to manage the Fill and has raised the right to terminate the concession contract.
In addition, environmental impact studies have shown that the landfill contaminates the soil, subsoil and Cardenas River, which flows into the Canal and produces much methane gas, pollutants and greenhouse gases.
To address this threat, Urbalia SA gave the Authority for Urban and Household (AAUD) a plan to optimize the filling and extending their useful life. These are mainly of three types of investments:
- The construction and operation of a plant for electricity generation.
- A Leachate Treatment Plant.
- Incineration plant to process 10/12 tons per day of hospital waste.
The plant power generation.
With regard to the plant power generation, the National Authority of Public Services (ASEP), by Resolution No.6050-Elec AN Panama, from April 2, 2013, granted provisional license Urbalia SA to install a plant “with an installed capacity of 10 MW "capacity.
However, to date no concrete progress on the project is known, other than declarations Manager Urbalia SA that has provided the following information:
The project cost is estimated (in successive statements) on 20, 30 and 50 million.Turbines-type to be responsible for sucking the landfill gas to convert it into electricity - generating 2.7 megawatts, engines are used. The plant would produce 10 megawatts per hour (MWh), which would translate to 240 megabytes per day (maximum demand that occurs in the country is 1,607 MW per day). As calculated by the administrator Urbalia SA in February 2016 the plant would be ready to enter trades, generating 87,600 megawatts annually, enough in your opinion, to supply at least one sixth of the population.
These figures do not correspond to previous studies, especially by Dutch experts. The rainy tropical climate and the high percentage of organic waste reduces the calorific value of the waste; moreover, the AAUD still faces difficulties in the collection and the population does not practice waste separation.
Faced with these questions, spokesmen Urbalia SA began to lower their expectations. In January 2014, Alvarez explained "that use electricity at the landfill, but did not rule it may sell part of production to the Electric Transmission Company, SA" (see http://impresa.prensa.com/panorama/Produciran -Energy-Patacon_0_3838116196.html).
Leachate treatment plant.
The leachate treatment plant Landfill Patacón hill began operations on March 26, 2014, in order to comply with Executive Order No. 275 of 2004, approving the rules for landfills with more capacity to 300 metric tons. Juan Camilo Alvarez, director Urbalia Project, noted that this plant is 300 cubic meters of treated water that will be used to wash trucks, road watering will occur, etc.
Juan Camilo Alvarez Urbalia project manager said the plant would be able to treat 200 cubic meters of leachate in summer and up to 350 cubic meters during the rainy season per day. The investment for this project, according Urbalia SA is $ 4.5 million.
The medical waste incinerator plant.
Urbalia SA is waiting for the Ministry of Health (MINSA) authorizes the placing into operation of the incinerator for hospital waste. According to Fausto Galeano, director of operations of the incinerator plant is calibrated and ready to boot with a burning time of 24 hours, six days a week, for up to 400 kilos per hour (9.6 ton / day). He says that will not affect the environment because smoke emission from the incinerator will pass filters 72 sleeves 2 meters in charge of "purify" hospital waste.
The MINSA has not authorized the operation of the plant for three main reasons:
1. The primary user of the plant will be the Ministry of Health itself, because by law is responsible for the collection and disposal of hazardous hospital waste. What will the rate be established Urbalia SA per ton disposed in the incinerator? This is not an easy negotiation.
2. As with all proposed Urbalia SA, civil society has no access to information or been consulted. Various organizations and scientists have been critical to incineration as a method of waste disposal in general and even more if they are dangerous. It is possible that criticism increase once the plant is put into operation.
3. Panama's National Assembly ratified the Stockholm Convention by Law 3 of 20 January 2003. 8.52 % of the sources of releases of dioxins and furans applicable to waste incineration, and the commitment of the Panamanian government, through the Ministry of Health It is to reduce these releases, to meet the goals set out in the Implementation Plan of the Stockholm Convention. Cerro incinerator Patacón goes in the opposite direction.
The three initiatives we have discussed Urbalia SA appear to be mitigating measures to prevent the termination of the grant by the Government of Panama.
On June 7, 2015, under the title "Granting Patacón, in sight" ( http://www.prensa.com/sociedad/Concesion-Pataconen-mira_0_4210828999.html ), the newspaper La Prensa reported:
"The government is eyeing the concession granted to the company Urbalia Panama to manage the landfill hill Patacón. The reason? The anomalies reported in recent years in the management and waste management. In fact, in 2013 a fire at the site that took weeks to be controlled and generated pollution was recorded.
Eladio Guardia, manager of the Authority for Urban and Household (AAUD), reported that a consultancy contract with the Spanish Ineco, for $ 3 million, for an assessment of the landfill. "
The waste management in health facilities.
The Ministry of Health (MINSA) of Panama lacks a strategy for the proper management of waste generated in health facilities. The Global Network for Green and Healthy Hospitals (http://hospitalesporlasaludambiental.net/ ) has developed a Global Agenda, which is proposed as Objective 3 "Reduce, treat and dispose of waste safely health facilities", considering the reducing the volume and toxicity of waste produced by the health sector, while implementing more environmentally sound management and disposal options.
The Network has established that:
"The incineration of medical waste generated various gases and hazardous compounds, including hydrochloric acid, dioxins and furans, and toxic metals: lead, cadmium and mercury. The disposal of solid waste produces emissions of greenhouse gases, including methane, a more potent than carbon dioxide "greenhouse gas twenty-one times".
Health Care Without Harm (see https://saludsindanio.org/americalatina/temas/alternativas -incineracion ) reports that:
In the last 20 years in the USA 99 % of medical waste incinerators, 6,000 operating in 1988 were under 60 at the end of 2008. Ireland, meanwhile, in 2003 no longer incinerated hospital waste closed.
The Philippines shows it is possible to completely eradicate incineration. In cities, infectious waste is handled autoclaves or microwaves in centralized facilities; in 2004, SSD worked with the Department of Health of the Philippines helping them see that it was possible to manage waste in a national vaccination program without resorting to open burning or incineration.
Cerro incinerator Patacón uses an approach of "end of pipe", neglecting a comprehensive strategy for management. About the Global Network for Green and Healthy Hospitals has suggested the following specific actions:
1. Implement procurement procedures that are environmentally preferable and avoid toxic materials such as mercury, PVC and unnecessary disposable products.
2. Create a waste management fee and assign to a specific waste management budget.
3. Implement a comprehensive waste reduction program, including the measure to avoid, where possible, the use of injectable drugs when oral treatments are equally effective.
4. Separate waste at source and start recycling non-hazardous waste.
5. Implement a comprehensive training program on waste management including the issue of unsafe injections, as well as the safe handling of sharps and other waste categories.
6. Ensure that waste handlers are trained, vaccinated and provided with personal protective equipment.
7. Enter waste treatment technology that does not involve incineration, to ensure that waste that cannot be avoided are processed and have a safe, economic and environmentally sustainable manner.
8. Advocating that public authorities build and manage secure landfills for non-recyclable waste management after treatment.
9. Support and participate in the development and implementation of policies of "zero waste" that reduce a significant proportion of the amount of waste generated in the hospital, municipal and national levels.
For its part, Health Care without Harm suggested as more frequent use alternative technologies autoclaves and microwave using high temperatures to kill microorganisms in the waste and then arrange with common municipal solid waste. This organization has published an inventory of suppliers of alternative technologies around the world, identifying 113 companies that supply sixty countries.
(https://saludsindanio.org/sites/default/files/documents-files/2046/For_Proper_Disposal.pdf).
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