A/HRC/18/31 17. Official data on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes show that only a limited amount of medical waste is subject to international movement. On average, approximately 12,000 tons of medical waste were exported for disposal in the period 20042006 (2 per cent of the total amount of waste exported in the same period).6 At times, medical waste is illegally shipped to other countries, as shown by a recent incident in which 1,400 tonnes of used condoms and syringes mixed with general household waste were exported from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Brazil for recycling.7 III. Human rights impact of medical waste 18. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes that the safe and sustainable management of health-care waste is a public health imperative and a responsibility of all.8 However, in many countries, including some developed countries, improper management and disposal of medical waste continue to pose a significant, although underestimated, threat to the enjoyment of several human rights, including the right to life, the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to safe and healthy working conditions and the right to an adequate standard of living. 19. All individuals exposed to health-care waste are potentially at risk of being injured or infected. They include: (a) personnel; Medical staff: doctors, nurses, sanitary staff and hospital maintenance (b) visitors; In- and out-patients receiving treatment in health-care facilities, and their (c) Workers in support services linked to health-care facilities such as laundries, waste-handling and transportation services; (d) Workers in waste-disposal facilities, including scavengers; (e) Communities living close to municipal waste facilities or illegal dump sites where medical waste is disposed of, and more specifically children playing with discarded items they find in the waste. A. Right to life/right to health 20. The Special Rapporteur notes that much more remains to be done to ensure the effective enjoyment of the inherent right to life, as set out in article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the right to the highest attainable standard of health, as defined in article 12 of the International Covenant on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of the management and disposal of medical waste. 21. The improper handling or disposal of hazardous medical waste can result in death, permanent or temporary disability or injury. In 1988, four people died from acute radiation syndrome and 28 suffered serious radiation burns following the improper disposal of 6 7 8 Secretariat of the Basel Convention, Waste without frontiers: global trends in generation and transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and other wastes (Geneva, 2010). Available from www.basel.int/pub/ww-frontiers31Jan2010.pdf. BBC News, “UK waste prompts Brazil complaint”, 24 July 2009. Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8166403.stm. World Health Organization, WHO core principles for achieving safe and sustainable management of health-care waste (Geneva, 2007). 7