l'AG V4,\VEDN 1ESI)AY'.,it iL Y FRî>5 VII IA: EPRESS çpwhitby Voice of the County Town Puilised ever vednestla h NI1.H31.Publishiiig nd Iiotography Inc. The Free Press uidin Michael lan Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor P..i Bro. WkitreetNorth L11.0. Box 206., whitby, (1 The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated bv Whitby 'residents for Whitby residents. Bio-medical waste issue w It seems that the issue of the haulage and disposal of bio-medical waste simply won't go away. At last week's meeting of Durham Regional Council, Dr. Jean Gray, the medical officer of A weoo4y nw oommantary from one ofCanada's outstunding newU peruanauiies EEST OF P1ETEsr 1rTR OA NEW It was a distinct pleasure to listen to the debates in the House of Commons which arose from the Air India tragedy after weeks of the harsh partisan din over pensions. For the most part, the debates that preceed and follow question period do not receive the same intense media scrutiny, and are Infinitely more constructive. I don't know whether the debates are more constructive because by andlarge the media ignore them, or whether the media ignore them because they are constructive. But when the House considered the Air India tragedy, members were even more help- fui and reasonable than they usually are when the spotlight is off. Clearly, MP's were genuinely concerned that Canada, as a country, should take action to minimize the chances of some new madman who thinks that hundreds of innocent lives are expen- dable in a political cause. But they also realized that playing politics in the usual way would ap- pear to a public which usually puts up with it, as unforgiveably cheap and tawdry. There are times, of course, when playing politics with brute force, as if it were a contact sport, gets resuits. The Opposition made the government back down on universality, against its better judgement, and on the question of de- indexing old age pensions. But it was not inexorable logic which has in the past forced the government to back-track. It was obvious public support for the slogans the Opposition manufac- tured. In the midst of tragedy, Parliament was working as reasonable men intended. The Minister of Transport made a quiet and informative opening statement. Opposition spokesmen made suggestions and asked the minister questions. Not the declarative, hectoring questions that dominate the normal Question period, but questions designed to clear up confusion and elicit information. More than once, Opposition members made suggestions which the minister received with genuine gratitude. I cannot help thinking that if the Opposition truly wants to influence government, and that if the government truly wants to tone down the criticism, that the kind of debate we had on Air in- dia is the way to go about it. Does the Opposition think insulting a minister makes him receptive to whatever idea the Opposition is peddling? Does the government believe that stinging attacks on the members opposite are likely to impress them with the sagacity of its policies? People who have been abused are rarely recep- tive to anything except the inevitable rush of adrenalin. We ail tend to forget that good manners are what separate us f rom mayhem. health received permission to conduct a survey of the region's seven hospitals and a representative sample of other health care facilities (for both human beings and animais) to determine how they dispose of pathological and anatomical waste. In her report to council, Dr. Gray made one ex- tremely important point. She said: "At present it can be deduced from the questionnaires that have already been completed that there is no standard way of disposing of the various classes of bio- medical waste throughout the region." While research already done has shown that human anatomical wastes are being incinerated, Dr. Gray pointed out that other forms of bio- medical waste are disposed of through varlous other means, including being dumped at regional landfill sites. In an interview with the Free Press last week, the medical officer of health maintains that there is no pressing health hazard being posed curren- tly by this waste. However, she did indicate that her department would prefer that it ail be collec- ted and disposed of in a similar manner. She also indicated that she would prefer this waste be in- cinerated. We wholeheartedly agree. If all hospitals, doctors' offices, medical laboratories, veterinary clinics and other health facilities disposed of their waste in a similar manner it could be more effec- tively and more efficiently controlled and any potential health hazard could be minimized. As we've said before, the disposal of all kinds of waste is going to become an even more pressing problem in the years ahead. Our landfill sites are becoming overburdened and new methods of waste disposal are going to have to be found. But here we have a case where a specific kind MICHAEL KNELL Community Editor VALERIE COWEN Advertising Manager g, nt. Second Class Ma l Registratiton No. 5351 on't go away of waste is not being treated in the best possible manner. Bio-medical waste already exists In our community. Our hospitals, clinics and laboratories are generating it ail the time. But there is not uniform, universally accepted means of collecting and disposing of It. That is what is needed. In reference to the council rejected application of Decom Medical Waste Transportation Systems Inc., East Ward Coun. Joe Drumm said that Whitby shouldn't be used as the conscious for Metro Toronto and the rest of Ontario when it comes to disposing of bio-medical waste. While we tend to agree with him on this point, we would also like to suggest that we are responsible for our own bio- medical waste. In other words, we have to be our own con- science. Whitby Town Council has already rejected Decom's proposai to develop a bio-medical waste transfer station on Sunray St. That is fair enough. (In fact, Decom should respect council's decision and not appeal the decision to the Ontarlo Ministry of the Environment.) But we still have to deal with the problem. The medical officer of health has indicated that there are better alternatives to the current methods of bio-medical waste disposal. When her study is completed, it is this newspaper's hope that new region-wide guidelines will be enacted to ensure that this waste is properly disposed of. And that the process is controlled and that there will never be a potential heaith hazard. There is no problem now, but that isn't to say that there won't be one in the future. And as many (not just doctors) are fond of saying: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." i O. TRAflSIT I lui, mow a --«-i 1 ly O)j