Official: Medical waste ticking bomb in Phnom Penh

PHNOM PENH, May 22 (Xinhua)--Potentially dangerous viral epidemics could break out if Phnom Penh's medical waste management is not tightened up, English-Khmer language newspaper the Mekong Times Thursday quoted official as saying.

"(We must) be careful of possible virus outbreaks, if medical waste is not properly managed (or disposed of)," said deputy governor of Phnom Penh Pa Socheatevong.

"(Human) health problems are partially caused by medical waste which is invisible to naked eyes," he said, citing that high blood pressure and cancers as prominent diseases being faced by city dwellers in Cambodia.

"We must realize that environmental pollution and transmission of viruses have no limits. So, if it occurs, it will cause a massive impact (on people). We will establish a medical waste management system to protect the environment and public health in the city," he added.

Phnom Penh covers over 700 square kilometers with some 1.3 million people discarding a total of more than 1,000 tons of rubbish a day, 70 percent of which is contaminated with medical waste, according to official statistics.

Editor: Amber Yao