A medical waste company that was found to be illegally dumping highly infectious raw waste is being investigated for corruption and fraud, the Environmental Affairs Department said on Sunday.
"One aspect of the investigation focused on the burying and dumping of truckloads of medical waste in and around Welkom in the Free State," said departmental spokesperson Albi Modise.
"However, this investigation, with the support of the South African Police Service, also includes allegations of corruption and fraud."
Wasteman, the country's biggest waste management company which boasts multimillion-rand contract with more than 150 hospitals and clinics, was raided by the Green Scorpions this week.
Search warrants were obtained to access the company's head office in Johannesburg, its incinerator at Klerksdorp, Durban treatment facility and Maximus Bricks in Welkom Industria.
"The investigation has uncovered that hundreds of tons of waste are rather being taken from the two facilities in KZN and North West to the Maximus Bricks site, to be illegally buried.
"This poses a significant health risk to the businesses and communities surrounding these areas, including the risk that significant harm may be caused to the environment, including the pollution of soil and underground water resources".
Modise said the company had been sending truckloads of the medical waste to be buried at different sites around Welkom instead of being treated and disposed of according to the law.
Anatomical waste found dumped included amputated legs, arms, placentas and foetuses.
Pharmaceutical waste included old tablets and medicine.
Other general medical waste found included syringes, used medical gloves, blood-stained clothes and blood samples.
Wasteman services provincial hospitals in Kwazulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, North West and the Western Cape.
It also serves private hospital groups such as Medicross, Life Healthcare and Netcare.
After the raid, the brick factory was issued with a compliance notice instructing for the closure of the site, the clean-up of the waste by an approved waste management company and the requirement to make the site secure.
"An urgent decision will now be taken as to the enforcement action required in relation to the two treatment and disposal facilities belonging to Wasteman, based on these contraventions," said Modise.
The maximum penalty for illegally dumping medical waste is R10-million or 10 years in prison, or both.
Modise urged the public to report environmental crimes to a 24-hour hotline number on 0800-205-005.
"Zero tolerance will be applied in relation to the medical waste sector."
Meanwhile Gareth Morgan, the Democratic Alliance shadow minister of water and environmental affairs, said he would write to the environmental affairs minister to ask for a healthcare waste management programme to be established.
He said the sector was plagued by problems such as a lack of capacity to treat medical waste and the poor functioning of some incinerators.
The raids should be a major concern for the affected hospitals, said Morgan.
"Environmental principles state that the generator of waste, that is the hospital or clinic, remains ultimately responsible for ensuring the safe treatment and disposal of this waste.
"In practice, the service provider that ultimately treats the waste needs to issue the generator with a certificate of destruction to confirm that the waste has been treated," he said. - Sapa