Inquiry into claims of dumping of human remains at landfill

Representatives of three medical organisations yesterday gave evidence before the inquiry team into allegations that human remains were dumped at the Maghtab landfill.

The inquiry is being conducted by Judge Victor Caruana Colombo, Professor Maurice Cauchi and Dr Victor Borg Grech.

The administrative officer at Sir Paul Boffa Hospital Gino Pavia said the hospital commonly disposed of two types of waste, domestic and clinical. Clinical waste, mostly blood-stained swabs and gauze but definitely not human remains, was put in yellow bags while domestic waste was put in black bags.

Yellow bags were taken to St Luke's Hospital for incineration until the Environment Department issued new regulations allowing their disposal at the Maghtab landfill.

This led to the yellow bags being collected from hospital wards and thrown in a designated skip from where they were collected and taken to the landfill.

Domestic waste was collected in black bags and deposited in another skip. Sharp waste containing syringes and needles was placed in yellow 'sharp safes' and sent to St Luke's Hospital for incineration.

Pavia was shown a picture of several black, yellow and green bags with the letters DH. The yellow and green bags also bore the words "biohazardous waste to be disposed of by incineration". Pavia said the bags might have originated from Boffa Hospital.

Mount Carmel hospital nursing manager John De Giorgio and St Vincent de Paul medical superintendent Renald Fiorentino said they were regularly visited by an infection control officer.

Both said they did not generate much clinical waste but they did separate clinical waste into yellow bags and domestic into black bags.

The inquiry continues.