An Inventory of World Bank Projects Involving
Medical Waste Incineration
June 1999

Contents

I. SUMMARY

II. MEDICAL WASTE INCINERATION: THE ISSUES INVOLVED
Dioxin
Mercury
The Solution

III. WORLD BANK FUNDING OF MEDICAL WASTE INCINERATION

IV. MRC'S AND HCWH'S CONCERNS

V. THE WORLD BANK'S HEALTHCARE WASTE MANAGEMENT GUIDANCE NOTES

VI. RECOMMENDATIONS

VII. NOTES AND REFERENCES

ATTACHMENTS

A. Inventory of World Bank Projects Involving Medical Waste Incineration based on publicly available Bank documents

B. HCWH letter to James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, August 1, 1997. The letter was not answered.

C. MRC letter to Andrew Steer, Director of Environment Department, February 14, 1997. The letter was not answered.

D. Letter from Glenn McRae, CGH Environmental Strategies to Richard Ackerman, Environmental Unit, South Asia Region, The World Bank, April 6, 1998. The letter was not answered.

E. International NGO Letter to the World Bank on Medical Waste Guidance Note

F. Resources for Additional Information




The Report Authors:
HEALTH CARE WITHOUT HARM

Health Care Without Harm is an international coalition of physicians, nurses, patients, public health advocates, scientists, environmental justice advocates, religious institutions, and labor representatives striving for greater responsibility in the health care industry. HCWH's mission is to transform the health care industry so it is no longer a source of environmental harm by eliminating pollution in health care practices without compromising safety or care. In particular, HCWH is concerned about dioxin and mercury emissions resulting from medical waste incinerators.

THE MULTINATIONALS RESOURCE CENTER

The Multinationals Resource Center is a project of Washington, D.C.-based Essential Information and is a member of Health Care Without Harm. MRC conducts research and disseminates information to environmental, health and other public interest advocates in less-industrialized countries. Concerned about the migration of the incinerator industry to the Third World, MRC is working with dozens of Southern groups to prevent the export of this unnecessary and dangerous technology from Northern countries to Southern ones.