Environment officials have been urged to rethink a plan to use the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre at Tsing Yi as a disposal site for hospital and laboratory waste. Safety concerns have been raised despite assurances from officials that the plant will meet environmental and health standards after a $51 million upgrade. At yesterday's joint meeting of Legco's environmental affairs and health panels, legislators were also briefed on proposals to control the collection and disposal of clinical waste. These include a licensing system to regulate the collection, delivery, and disposal of waste. Doctors could also face a $335 monthly waste-disposal fee. At present, about eight tonnes of clinical waste, including used needles and human organs, is dumped in landfills each day without being treated. Legislators in general supported the control scheme. But Democrat Sin Chung-kai said clinical waste should not be treated at a plant so close to a residential areas. 'The Tsing Yi facility was built to handle industrial waste. And occasionally there were reports about leakage of toxic gas,' he said. 'It might be more cost-effective if we find a new site in a more remote area to build a new plant to treat clinical waste.' The Frontier's Emily Lau Wai-hing urged the Government to consult green groups and residents before approving the plan. Environment and Food Bureau deputy secretary Donald Tong Chi-keung said: 'Our study found disposing of clinical waste by incineration was the best option. If we find a new site, we may waste a lot of time and money.' Greenpeace, which is opposed to the incineration of waste, said the study was 'extremely biased'. It said medical waste incineration generated dioxins, which were harmful to human health and the environment.
