Medical waste is highly infectious, biotoxic and corrosive, and poorly managed or improperly handled discharges will be lost to the wind or drenched by the rain, resulting in contamination of water bodies, the atmosphere, the soil and direct harm to the human body. Unlike domestic garbage waste, medical waste is more hazardous due to the huge number and variety of germs it carries, which are characterized by spatial transmission, acute transmission, cross-transmission and latent transmission. There are many records of epidemic infectious diseases caused by surface water pollution both at home and abroad; in 1955, 68% of the population of a city in India was infected with hepatitis A jaundice because the water source was polluted by germs; in China, typhoid fever epidemic was caused by the pollution of water source in the north of Jiangbei area of Jilin City, more than 400 people suffered from illnesses, and 5 people died; in China, the tuberculosis hospital of Fushun City, the sewage contaminated the water source, and more than 300 people suffered from tuberculosis in the neighborhood; in 1986, the outbreak of tuberculosis A in Shanghai City. The outbreak of hepatitis A in Shanghai in 1986 was also caused by the consumption of arkshells contaminated with virus-carrying sewage from the hospital.
By the above examples, whether from the point of view of health and epidemic prevention, or from the point of view of environmental protection, to strengthen the legislation and management of medical waste is of great significance.