Environmentally Sustainable Management of Medical Waste in China

The objective of the project is to minimize the generation and emissions of unintentionally produced POPs (principally PCDDs/PCDFs) from the medical waste treatment sector. The project will simultaneously explore ways to reduce emissions of other POPs and globally harmful contaminants generated by the medical waste sector, such as hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The project is set in the framework of China's "Hazardous Waste and Medical Waste Treatment Facility Construction Plan" developed in response to the SARS. Medical waste disposal is thought to represent 11% of total dioxin emissions in China. It is therefore estimated that the project will directly lead to the abatement of 4.5g TEQ/year, leading to a reduction of 114g TEQ/yr with replication.