Indian clinical waste reaches Puttalam

Indian clinical waste reaches Puttalam Sri Lanka

The mounting clinical waste in coastal areas off Puttalam has washed ashore from India, the Maritime Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) confirmed yesterday.

“Residents in these areas complained to the MEPA that 50 to 60 kilograms of clinical waste were found washed ashore. Expired medicines, bottles, polythene packages, syringes and surgical hand gloves were among them,” he said.

MEPA says that a proper program will be implemented to remove the clinical waste that has been washed up on to the Puttalam coastal area.

According to the Marine Environment Protection Authority, those clinical waste have been identified as clinical waste from India, disposed to the sea in a hazardous manner.

“We cannot prevent clinical waste from coming to local beaches because it is a natural process,” he said.

However, the MEPA warned the public not to collect clinical waste without any safety precaution, and not to swim in the seas off the coast where clinical waste gathered.