Three health workers have been apprehended by the Monitoring Team of the Sole Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA).
The Monitoring Team carried out this arrest over indiscriminate dumping of clinical wastes by the roadside at the Akpajo Roundabout off Oil Mill Junction in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
According to a report signed by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Bro. Felix Obuah, Sole Administrator, Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA) Jerry Needam, which was made available to journalists in Port Harcourt on Monday, Obuah said the health workers were caught dumping some clinical wastes which include syringes, placenta amongst others on the roadside.
He added that the culprits who worked for a private clinic in the area, identified as Fruitful Maternity and Clinic, were caught in the act and handed over to the Police attached to RIWAMA Police for interrogation and prosecution.
The Monitoring Team said investigations revealed that so many clinics, hospitals and health centers in Port Harcourt are culpable in this practice and warned that the Agency is on their trail with a view to bringing them to book.
The RIWAMA boss, while also condemning some traditional delivery homes, who engaged in the unwholesome practice, warned that the Agency would not spare any defaulter caught in the act. He regretted that aside the indiscriminate dumping of clinical wastes, these health workers also dump refuse outside the Agency’s approved dumping hours of 6 pm to 12 midnight
