When border control officers in Wuhan, Hubei province, opened the "charitable materials" donated by the American AGAPE Foundation, the stench from the box came out of their noses. A staff member of the Hubei Quarantine and Inspection Bureau responsible for publicity described the scene as follows: "Many of them were already moldy, covered with grease and stains, and the stench was overwhelming. The items in the box are even worse, the vast majority of which have expired. Many disposable syringes are placed in the box naked, syringes within the substance is unknown; there are also patients used wheelchairs, all have traces of repair, some wheelchair tires are broken."
It is understood that similar "foreign garbage donation" events have occurred many times in China, the relevant departments are preparing to take measures to block from the source.
Hubei was donated by the U.S. "love garbage" event
Wuhan was donated 548 boxes of medical waste
The reporter learned from the Hubei Provincial Inspection and Quarantine was informed that the Bureau of the U.S. AGAPE Foundation to the Wuhan Municipal Charity Association recently donated 29,422 U.S. dollars, 138,647, 548 boxes of two batches of medical supplies during inspection. Boxes of two batches of medical supplies for inspection, found that the two batches of donations have serious quality problems.
The two batches of donated medical supplies are mainly cardiac surgical kits, medical suits, medical gloves, gauze, tape, catheters and kits, wheelchairs and so on. The main problems are: First, the packaging is broken to varying degrees, and the surface of the mold, stains; Second, the vast majority of items expired, the expiration date are between 1990-2004; Third, a variety of items are mixed, the goods are seriously contaminated. For example, disposable syringes were placed naked in the box, the substances in the syringes were unknown and had deteriorated, and the reagents, disinfectant creams and liquids had flowed out; fourth, wheelchairs, disinfectant supplies, experimental kits, and some of the medical disposable supplies were used waste goods. At present, the above goods have been completely sealed.
According to the introduction, because most of these foreign garbage are expired drugs or medical supplies that have been used and seriously contaminated, once they are received and reused by some individual medical institutions, the consequences are extremely serious. Even if they are found to be incinerated, the environment is also a serious pollution.
Wuhan City Charity Association: has been rejected according to the agreement
In order to clarify the facts, in the "donation of garbage" after the incident was exposed to the Wuhan City Charity Association, a major responsible person to accept a reporter's interview.
It is understood that the two donations of documents related to the American AGAPE Foundation in April 12, 2005 and June 13, respectively, signed with the Wuhan Charity Association. Reporter in Wuhan City Charity Association provided "(Tennessee) AGAPE Foundation and Wuhan City Charity Association charitable affairs cooperation contract" and "(Tennessee) AGAPE Foundation and Wuhan City Charity Association Donation Agreement" on the two sides of the April 12 contract of cooperation established "for the Hubei region of poor people with congenital heart disease and orphans to provide medical care and assistance and efforts" purpose. The two sides established the purpose of "providing medical assistance to poor people with congenital heart disease and orphans in Hubei" in the contract of cooperation dated April 12, and made a preliminary agreement on matters related to the donation. In the June 13th Donation Agreement, it was established that the AGAPE Foundation would provide a batch of medical consumables to a hospital in Wuhan on a non-profit basis, free of charge, to compensate for the hospital's provision of free surgical services to indigent patients (at a total cost of approximately RMB 800,000). Article 9 of the donation agreement provides that "medical consumables donated by the AGAPE Foundation must comply with the Chinese People's **** and the country's "Commodity Inspection Law", such as by the unqualified test, resulting in all the consequences of (the United States of America, Tennessee) China AGAPE Foundation is responsible for bearing".
Wuhan City Charity Association of this person in charge said: "The other side of the donation is a good deed, we have no reason to refuse. Signed agreements and contracts are conventional documents, there is no loophole, donated goods to the customs, we will work with the Hubei Provincial Commodity Inspection Bureau, donor representatives and representatives of the recipient hospitals four-way **** with the customs to open the box inspection, found anomalies, we refused to accept at that time."
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine: AGAPE has "donated" many of its medical equipment will be blocked
Reporters learned from the relevant departments, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine clearly identified "AGAPE Foundation many times in the name of the donation of medical equipment, and even medical equipment, and the transfer of substandard medical equipment, and even medical equipment. Transfer of substandard medical equipment, and even medical waste, there is a major safety and health hazards ...... from now on, to stop the U.S. AGAPE Foundation to China to export medical equipment." This announcement clearly points out that the AGAPE Foundation "donation of foreign garbage" behavior is "many times", as for what else, the relevant departments do not want to disclose.
National measures to plug the leak, if necessary, before shipment inspection
8 pm, the State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine staff told reporters that, according to the "National Import and Export Commodity Inspection Law Enforcement Regulations," the goods were found to be mixed with medical waste, are to be destroyed or returned. The staff said, similar events have occurred in the past, the donor is generally humanitarian organizations and foundations, some donations will be mixed with foreign garbage.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the State specifically for this issue issued Notice No. 159 of 2005, "any organization shall not be in the name of the donation to China to transfer substandard medical equipment. Local inspection and quarantine agencies to strengthen the inspection and supervision of donated medical equipment, found unqualified not allowed to install, use, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and reported to the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Where the donation of medical equipment to China's foreign donor organizations, need to be by its or their agents in China to the AQSIQ for the record; the donated medical equipment shall be applied in advance to the AQSIQ for registration and reporting."
In the announcement, the provisions will be blocked from the source of medical waste, "the implementation of donated medical equipment with the report for the record and registration certificate acceptance of inspection, port inspection, the use of the inspection and supervision system, if necessary, the implementation of the pre-shipment pre-inspection."
Investigation Donor AGAPE is also a victim?
The word "AGAPE" means "unconditional love" in Greek. Is the AGAPE Foundation of the United States really a legitimate organization of a charitable nature, as its name implies? And this charity donated charity goods and why become medical waste? This reporter investigated.
AGAPE is a legitimate organization
The reporter learned from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the AGAPE Foundation is in line with U.S. law legal tax-exempt charitable organizations. AGAPE Foundation headquarters is located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, under the Chinese AGAPE Foundation office in Georgia Peach Tree City (PEACHTREE CITY). It is understood that the purpose of the China AGAPE Foundation is to help the poor and disadvantaged people without compensation, try to improve the lives of orphans, widows and elderly people. Foundation President Luo Brown has visited Wuhan City 3 times and organized medical assistance, donations to schools and other charitable activities.
On AGAPE's homepage, the reporter saw many successful cases of the organization's charitable activities in China. In Shaoyang, Hunan Province, Guilin, Guangxi Province and other places, AGAPE invested a lot of money and donated a lot of materials to subsidize hospitals in poor areas of China. The head of the Wuhan Charity Association also said that AGAPE's success in funding Chinese charities "is not the first time".
AGAPE ate a dumb loss?
The reporter learned from the headquarters of the AGAPE Foundation in China that the medical equipment donation program to Wuhan, Hubei Province, has been sponsored by a number of well-known companies and organizations in the United States, totaling 250,000 U.S. dollars. Among these sponsors, there are two world-renowned companies that donate equipment and provide shipping services, as well as the Vanderbilt University Hospital. However, the sponsors also include several small, unrecognized companies that have donated cardiac equipment, medications and more.
The items donated by AGAPE were actually provided by these companies. In the end, which link is wrong? Hubei inspection and quarantine department, a staff member believes that "things were switched". But Wuhan City Charity Association, the person in charge of the "package" statement is not accurate. He believes that before the donated goods customs clearance, scattered around the United States, these companies may not send the goods to AGAPE, but through the customs directly to China, otherwise too many links, the cost of charitable donations will increase. "It is this practice that may give criminals the opportunity to take advantage of some of the loopholes in charitable donations to dump waste. In the process, AGAPE may have suffered a dumb loss."
AGAPE will clarify the "foreign garbage donation" incident
A few days ago, the reporter contacted Feng Zhuoqi, the head of AGAPE China. He said, he is in Guilin, Guangxi, the implementation of a charitable project, for the Hubei foreign garbage incident "very eager to clarify the facts". At present, AGAPE is planning to hold a press conference to explain to the participants of the "donation of foreign garbage" event details.
Whether AGAPE is directly exporting medical waste to China remains unconfirmed.
Experts analyze why individual countries are exporting hazardous waste.
Tsinghua University environmental engineering professor Jing Wenchong told the morning reporter: "The internationally renowned Basel Convention, which provides for a comprehensive ban on the export of all hazardous waste from developed countries to developing countries through any reason. Medical waste is among the hazardous wastes recognized in the list of this convention."
Jing Wenchong said most developed countries treat hazardous waste in two general ways: one is off-site production that does not create hazards within their own borders, and the other is transboundary movement. "The medical waste received in Wuhan this time belongs to the transboundary transfer by someone who deceived our country to deal with the waste." Jing Wenchong told reporters that the company that transferred the medical waste in the name of "donation" would make huge profits from such cross-border transfer. "The infrastructure cost of treating one ton of domestic waste is equivalent to the value of 500 grams of gold. Medical waste cannot be buried and must be disposed of by incineration, which costs even more, many times more than the shipping costs required for transfer."
"To eliminate the entry of medical waste, it must be guarded by customs." Jing Wenchong said that China's customs had checked and dealt with a number of similar incidents, and once found, it was firmly prohibited from entering the country.
News Links Anhui also suffered "charity garbage" into the country
Recently from the Anhui Provincial Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau was informed that the Bureau of a number of charitable foundations donated by the United States of America, the value of $ 114,542.08 of "charitable material "Inspection, found that 47 boxes of medical supplies have passed the expiration date, 60 boxes of medical supplies without expiration date, 2 boxes of medical equipment for second-hand medical equipment; 2 boxes of laundry supplies have passed the expiration date; 87 boxes of children's products and 41 pairs of rehabilitation supplies have been used, *** counted 239 boxes (pieces), the scrap rate of 26%. Inspectors in the donation contains a large number of unused disposable injection equipment (with needle) sampling for sterile test, found that it is also substandard products. According to the reporter, Anhui and Hubei in the donations found in the "medical waste", is the largest two found in 2005.