The memo issued and signed by Engineer William Cuñado, EMB OIC-Director, directs all EMB regional directors to use thermal treatment by incineration as a mode of disposal with total disregard for RA 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act. Section 20 of the Clean Air Act bans incineration. Even the Supreme Court’s orbiter dictum in the MMDA v Jancom case does not annul the prohibition. The memo is in clear violation of the law.
hypochlorite for 30 minutes. The DOH Manual calls for decontamination of infectious waste by 5% hypochlorite, which is a safe concentration since it is more than 10 times higher than what is needed to inactivate the COVID-19 virus. Microwave units used for infectious waste require enough water to produce steam and operate around 100 degrees Celsius to achieve high levels of disinfection in about 30 minutes. Autoclaves, which are basically pressure cookers operating at temperatures between 121-134 degrees Celsius, reach sterilization levels and are far more than adequate to handle COVID-19 wastes.
The Clean Air Act prohibits the burning or incineration of medical wastes in part because incineration creates the most toxic chemicals known to science, dioxins and furans, which remain in the environment for decades to hundreds of years. Dioxins and furans are linked to
pag may covid lng naman. kaya wag matigas ulo. lets cooperate to eliminate the covid.
di ba pwede irecycle?