Ma defends plan for local medical waste incinerator

Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday reiterated the city's desperate need for a medical waste incinerator, but city councilors questioned the city's intent to build the facility in Peitou District.

"We cannot count on the central government to solve the problem for us, nor on other counties or cities to take care of the problem for us," Ma said during the special report session at the City Council yesterday morning.

Taipei City produces an average of 11 tonnes of infectious medical waste daily, accounting for one fifth of the nation's total amount of such refuse, but currently does not have a single incinerator.

Until recently, 60 percent of the infectious medical waste went to a contracted steel plant in Taoyuan County for incineration, while the remaining 40 percent went to a private medical waste incinerator in Yunlin County.

But in March, the Environmental Protection Administration abruptly ordered the Taoyuan plant to shut down its incineration operations, citing as a reason a high level of dioxin emissions.

Since then, Taipei hospitals have had to store the waste they produce. As of May 18, the amount had reached about 410 tonnes.

As a temporary measure to combat the problem, the city started burning infectious medical waste as regular garbage at the Peitou incinerator.

However, the city bowed to opposition from city councilors, local wardens and residents of the city's Peitou and Shihlin districts. On May 5, the city ordered a halt to the incineration of medical waste at the Peitou incinerator.

On May 15, two bags of suspected infectious medical waste were found at the facility. City councilors then demanded Ma deliver a special report on the council floor yesterday.

Ma was unsure about where the facility would be built. "We're strongly considering Peitou, as well as Wenshan and Neihu districts, where the city's three incinerators are located," he said.

"National Taiwan University Hospital (台大醫院) and Veterans General Hospital (榮民總醫院), which are equipped with in-house medical waste incinerators, are also being considered."

City councilors of different parties, however, questioned the necessity of establishing such a facility as well as Ma's intent to build it.

New Party City Councilor James Wei (魏憶龍) said the city's rationale for building such a facility in Peitou does not make sense.

"It argued that Peitou is a good choice because it produces the most medical waste, but hospitals in Peitou don't treat only patients from Peitou but from all over the island," he said.

Wei's view was echoed by Chen Cheng-te (陳正德) of the DPP.

"I don't support the facility being set up in Peitou, but if that's the way it's going to be, get ready for the worst," he said.

New Party City Councilor Chin Li-fang (秦儷舫) said that she does not want the city to build the incinerator anywhere except Peitou.

"When the City Council earmarked NT$500 million in 1995 to build three 25-tonne capacity medical waste incinerators, we wanted it to be in Peitou district. It violates the spirit of the budget if it ends up somewhere else," she said.