conference magazine - Caribbean Environmental Health Institute

More documents

Recommendations

Info

24 Implementation of Alternative (Non-Incineration) Medical Waste Treatment Technology in Jamaica by Navarine Natisia Hylton A B S T R A C T S In Jamaica, it is estimated that the health sector generates approximately 1,596 tonnes of medical waste annually, of which 83% is produced by public health care facilities (MOH 2005). At present, there are no environmentally sound medical waste treatment systems at public (or private) healthcare facilities. Most healthcare facilities treat their medical waste with very old (over 20 years) and poorly maintained on-site incinerators or ‘burn boxes’, which are not fit for the treatment of medical waste (Crown Agent 2003). Further, on numerous occasions when the incinerators are out of service, medical waste is either burnt and/or dumped illegally at municipal controlled disposal sites, in gullies, or on vacant lands. The cost of the negative effects of improper handling and disposal practices is a burden on the public purse. Over the years, there have been several negative media reports and community concerns highlighting the problems, and placing the institutions under tremendous pressure to take corrective measures. Against this background, the Government of Jamaica is investing in appropriate technology for the treatment of infectious medical waste. Currently, the Ministry of Health is implementing a program aimed at improving the overall management of medical waste in the public health system. It includes: • Procurement and installation of four regional medical waste collection and treatment facilities with steam sterilization and shredding treatment technology; • Development of National Medical Waste Management Policy, Regulations, Standards, and Guidelines; • Standardization of waste management procedures in all healthcare facilities; • Implementation of waste segregation and minimization strategies; and, • Training of healthcare staff in proper waste management. The procurement and installation of the regional medical waste collection and treatment facilities will be implemented in two phases: phase 1 in the largest health region (Region 1) and phase 2 in the other health regions. Phase 1 was successfully implemented in 2008 under the World Bank Funded National HIV/STI Programme. Waste Diversion and Energy Production with a Bio-Dryer by Ed Nesselbeck This presentation will focus on the beneficial uses of the in-vessel bio-dryer system. Bio-dryers have a long and successful history for generating high quality fuel derived from the green waste in a relatively short time duration and offer an excellent option for waste diversion. The organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (MSW) typically ends up either being land-filled, incinerated or composted. One of the most efficient methods of composting (the Wrighttech tunnels) has been modified to provide a superior way to handle these organic wastes and bio-solids. As an alternative use, the Wrighttech tunnels are now used to create a viable fuel product for combustion in a combined heat & power (CHP) boiler. Green waste from MSW streams, sewage sludge (bio-solids) and food wastes can now by diverted from the landfill and turned into a “Green, carbon-neutral” fuel. The on-site CHP will combust the fuel, generate hot water, process steam and electricity. Additionally, the CHP may be designed for further beneficial use such as combusting health care facility infectious waste. Another beneficial use for the bio-dryer is for the low-cost alternative of contaminated soil treatment and cleanup. Soils contaminated with petroleum products and chlorinated organics can be treated in the bio-dryer for complete destruction of the contaminants of concern through a proprietary process. Performance Management as Implemented in a Waste Management Company by Mylenne Kerindongo-Vicento Waste Management Companies have to perform and survive in a complex, competitive, fast-changing economic-social-and political environment. Strategic goals are effective only when a company can measure and monitor its progress accurately and can align the entire organization in the pursuit of those goals. The globalization trend being part of this fast changing economy is showing signals needing consideration in both large corporations as well as households in the community. Today Selikor Llc., Waste Management Company of the Island of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles is facing ongoing changes. In an unpredictable economic environment it is imperative to have operations well controlled. The effective and efficient performance of Selikor’s operational activities is crucial to its overall business success. In Selikor’s business plan, the vision, mission and goals are well defined. The management of Selikor introduced a management system that can monitor and evaluate the day-to-day performance of the operations and can indicate corrective measures if necessary, in a timely manner. Selikor has two types of management teams to control the quality of service delivered by the company, the management team and the quality team. The management team, consisting of the CEO and the senior managers determines the firm’s strategic direction and reviews operational and financial performances. To pursue organizational goals, Selikor has implemented a performance management system. The Performance management system is a closed circuit and consists of the following phases: plan, select, collect, analyze, interpret, decide, commit, take action, and review. Performance management can be described as a management process for taking actions in response to actual performances thus making outcomes better than they would otherwise be. Performance management can also be described as conducting operations of a company through the critical performance indicators. By translating organizational strategy into the five performance objectives (quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost) and identifying their relative importance, operations can focus on what is important and as a result will function as planned. Performance management arrangements can help to integrate planning, review financial management and improvement systems to enable policy makers and managers to make informed decisions and improve services to meet client’s goals. FIFTH BIENNIAL CARIBBEAN ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM AND EXHIBITION
Selikor has implemented this management system first as a pilot project in one department in 2004. In the second phase an extension took place to the four operational departments and in 2010 the staff departments have been added to the project. Daily measurements of performances of the services are taken. When performances are noted, through interventions the processes are revised, and changes are made for the continuous improvement. By delivering the most effective level of service to clients, innovative solutions that bring value to the client base, and a properly and timely billing system, the company will distinguish herself in such a positive way that it can survive in a complex, competitive, fast-changing economic-social-and political environment. Parallel Session 2 - Centers for Disease Control / Water Safety Planning (Falmouth Safe Water Initiative Project: Ministry of Health, Guyana by Ashok Sookdeo Within the past decade the prevalence of acute diarrhoeal diseases in Guyana has increased more than triple fold. Whilst it may be argued that this is the result of improved surveillance by the Ministry of Health, the steady annual increase noted within the last ten years is a justified cause for concern. Moreover, the prevalence rate of acute diarrhoea in the interior locations of Guyana, where the Amerindians reside, is alarmingly higher. In most instances the prevalence of diarrhoea in these remote regions ranges from 50 to 234. These high figures are likely the result of the reliance on the creeks, ponds and rivers for drinking water, and poor sanitary conditions. The prevalence of diarrhoea is high both in the rainy and dry season and this can be explained by the fact that intense rainfall washes contaminants into water supplies. Drought conditions diminishes the availability of fresh water. To this end the Environmental Health Unit of the Ministry of Health, Guyana, has developed a multipronged approach that encompasses education and training, advocacy, social marketing and hygiene promotion to tackle the diarrhoeal problem. There are three primary activities developed in this safe water initiative which commenced in February 2010. Firstly, Environmental Health Officers, Community Health Workers and other allied health staff from areas where there is a higher prevalence of diarrhoea are being trained to assist their community develop good hygiene practices and to implement initiatives for household water treatment. Secondly, nine thousand bottles of Chlorosol, a user friendly chlorine solution developed in Guyana for the treatment of non-turbid waters, and one million sachets of PuR for the treatment of turbid waters are being distributed to vulnerable households. The distribution of PuR is mostly in the interior regions where there is a greater reliance on river, creek and pond water. Five gallon bottles, funnels, buckets and cotton cloth which are accessories needed for the use of PuR are also being distributed. Thirdly, to promote the use of the water treatment products Chlorosol and PuR and the techniques to improve the consumption of safe water a public awareness campaign utilizing television, radio, the press, pamphlets, posters and community meetings are being conducted. The mass media campaign is also geared to market Chlorosol as an excellent product for treating pipe and rain water. Questionnaires will be administered to households that are provided with both PuR and Chlorosol to assess the effectiveness of the various components of the safe water initiative. Water Safety Planning (WSP) Demonstration Initiative for Linden, Guyana by Christopher Cox and Savitri Jetoo Water safety planning (WSP) is a risk assessment and risk management approach recommended under Chapter 4 of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality 3 rd Edition (2004) that seeks to enhance the management of processes that impact the quality of water supply along all steps in the supply chain; from catchment to consumer. The WSP approach is now being piloted and implemented within water supply systems in many parts of the world, and work has been initiated in some Caribbean countries through the support of regional and international development partners. This paper describes the project development methodology and plans for the implementation of a WSP initiative in Guyana that was led by the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), with support from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO). The project sought to demonstrate implementation of a holistic approach aimed at addressing the key issues of water source protection and its linkage to drinking water and ambient water quality, and demonstration of the design of a system-wide water safety plan (WSP) for water supply and distribution. Guyana’s second-largest city, Linden, was selected as the pilot community for the project. The water source protection component of this pilot initiative was formulated within the framework of the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land- Based Sources (LBS) of Pollution, a global agreement committed to by governments worldwide to improve the health of coastal and marine waters. Watersheds that drain the areas within and around Linden constituted the geographic study area for development of a local-level National Plan of Action (NPA) to minimize pollution into the ambient environment, with specific emphasis on protection of source waters used for drinking water supply to the Linden community. The joint Water Safety Planning (WSP) and National Plan of Action (NPA) framework for water source protection demonstrated in Guyana will be of value to other Caribbean SIDS in the development of management approaches to improve quality of water supply systems. Waste Water Treatment Plants as a Best Practice for Rural Settlements on Impervious Soils by LaVerne Walker and Cornelius Isaac The Fond d’Or watershed is the second largest in Saint Lucia comprising 10,230 acres. The absence of adequate forest cover, along with poor waste, land-use, and soil management practices adopted by resource users, are the main causes of the environmental degradation and resultant acute water problems experienced in this wa- 25 A B S T R A C T S FIFTH BIENNIAL CARIBBEAN ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM AND EXHIBITION
Page 1 and 2: FIFTH BIENNIAL CARIBBEAN ENVIRONMEN
Page 3 and 4: Contents Background Messages • Me
Page 5 and 6: 5 Message from Hon. Dr. Horace Chan
Page 7 and 8: 7 Message from Patricia Aquing Exec
Page 9 and 10: United States Centers for Disease C
Page 11 and 12: 11 CARICOM Energy Programme Joint M
Page 13 and 14: List of Organizers and Sponsors Col
Page 15 and 16: Monday, June 21 st 10:00 - 16:00 Ar
Page 17 and 18: Quality (Falmouth Room) Parallel Se
Page 19 and 20: 12.00 - 12.30 Randy Brown: ReCaribe
Page 21 and 22: Abstracts of Technical Presentation
Page 23: ottles are discarded yearly in Geor
Page 27 and 28: the importance of the vision of IWC
Page 29 and 30: concerns of global warming. Alterna
Page 31 and 32: Caribbean’s sustainability proble
Page 33 and 34: Parallel Session 5 - Water Resource
Page 35 and 36: ance at the macro (government) and
Page 37 and 38: The aim of this paper was to assess
Page 39 and 40: ventilation, temperature, etc inher
Page 41 and 42: Parallel Session 7- Climate Change
Page 43 and 44: Are our laws and institutions ready
Page 45 and 46: is the role that Communication for
Page 47 and 48: Map of Conference & Exhibition Area

conference magazine - Caribbean Environmental Health Institute

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?