Oman is piecing together norms to effectively dispose off e-waste
By V L Srinivasan
VL.Srinivasan@apexstuff.com
Electronic waste – e-waste – generated from the discarded accessories of mobile phones, old televisions, computers and other electronic items pollute the environment when disposed improperly. Though digitalisation of Oman is currently on at a hectic pace, the public and private sectors are yet to wake up to this threat and focus on managing and recycling e-waste. Most people are unaware of the fact that recycling e-waste is a potential business opportunity. Recycling e-waste also yields precious metals and third-grade plastic items.
Besides recovering precious metals like gold, palladium and platinum, recycling e-waste also helps in extracting other metallic and non-metallic substances from the scrap. Currently, e-waste is disposed off in a routine manner like any other kind of garbage, posing health hazards to people handling it because of the toxic materials such as lead, mercury and cadmium in it.
“E-waste is created by everyone of us, but proper disposal is our collective responsibility as doing so is beneficial to the local community as well as the environment,” said Sangeetha Sridhar, business content consultant with Information Technology Authority. According to her, some of the community-based efforts to manage e-waste include creation of a safe and eco-friendly e-waste recycling plant; coordinating the public and private sectors’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in e-waste management and recycling; putting in place a segregated e-waste collection system with local municipalities; encouraging the use of bio-degradable components in electronic products; clearly labeling hazardous substances used in electronic products for the knowledge of customers; promoting brands that encourage buyback schemes of old electronic products; and launching public awareness campaigns to minimise the quantity of e-waste.
“Developed nations like the US and Japan have strict laws governing disposal of e-waste and its recycling. We should have similar legislations in place so that e-waste does not degenerate environment,'' Sangeetha said.
Dr Bassim al Bahrani, a senior consultant and head of medical oncology at Royal Hospital, said that exposure to toxic elements that are also found in e-waste result in various kinds of cancers. Explaining why e-waste is harmful, another doctor from the hospital, Dr Rajan Balakrishnan, senior consultant and head of the radiation oncology department, said, “While alpha and beta rays affect human beings only when they are touched, the gamma rays emitted by such waste penetrate human bodies even if they are kept at a distance. “E-waste cause environmental pollution leading to health hazards. These should be handled and disposed off properly.”
The current practice among owners of computer shops in Ruwi is collecting e-waste in dustbins until these are taken away by the municipality to dumping yards, according to Thomsy Abraham of Venus Computer in Ruwi.
The Environment Society of Oman (ESO) believes that people can reduce e-waste by adopting various methods. Buying devices which are more durable and using rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones are some of these ways, said Nida Helou, manager of ESO.
According to Ahmed bin Zahir al Hinai, director of environmental inspection and control in the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, e-waste has to be managed in compliance with the law on conservation of the environment and prevention of pollution issued through Royal Decree No (114/2001), the ministerial decision No 18/93 on the guidelines for the management of hazardous wastes and the Basel Convention of 1994 (on the control of transboundry movement of hazardous wastes and its disposal) of which Oman is a signatory. “We are currently in the process of finalising guidelines for proper disposal of e-waste,” he said.
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
READY TO USE
Our Correspondent
theweek@apexstuff.com
MUSCAT, Aug 19: Two out of four bridges, being constructed by the Muscat Municipality at Qurm, will be ready for commissioning soon.
The four bridges are part of the RO22mn project aimed at curbing traffic congestion and flooding at the commercial centre at Qurm.
These bridges also form part of the government's plan to construct a 3.5km long and 22m high dam at Amerat heights in the Muscat governorate to protect the populated areas in Amerat and Qurm from major floods like the one caused by Cyclone Gonu in June 2007.
Eng Abdullah bin Mohammad al Saadi , director-general of roads in Muscat Municipality, told TheWeek that the two bridges across Wadi Adai to A'Nahdha street near Al Harthy Complex will be opened for vehicular traffic in November, while the third bridge will connect Al Wallaj street and Al Araimi complex/Khamis plaza and the fourth one is from Sultan Showroom to BMW Showroom.
Wadi Adai, which traverses through several parts of the Muscat capital area, especially from Al Harthy Complex upstream to Capital Commercial Centre downstream in Qurm, has been flooding the areas close to it. The flow of storm water into the wadi is hampered due to inadequate cross-drainage provisions across A'Sultan Qaboos street/A'Nahda street, resulting in water-logging in the surrounding areas.
Moreover, vehicular movement on the service roads between the commercial area of Al Araimi Complex/Al Khamis Plaza and Al Wallaj street and between Sultan Showroom and BMW Showroom is hit even after a drizzle. "These locations are being upgraded to withstand storms for more than a century," Abdullah said.
The structures of the bridges include post-tensioned I-girder superstructures with cast-in-place deck slabs supported on concrete pier caps, columns and foundations. These foundations are deep enough to ensure that no damage is caused to the bridge during the floods. The project, reported to be one of the biggest in the Muscat Municipality in the last few years, also includes upgrading the culvert along A'Sultan Qaboos street near the Royal Oman Police headquarters.
Meanwhile, civic officials have taken up cleaning of major wadis in the city on a large scale to prevent flooding. The civic house is also de-silting wadis at Seeb, Bausher, Muttrah, Amerat, Quriyat and other places. They are trying to remove the debris that was deposited in these wadis during cyclonic Gonu. "We want to ensure that rain water from the mountains flows to the sea without any hindrance," he said.
The government has already appointed a consultant to prepare a master plan for constructing a drainage system for the city. He is expected to submit an initial report by this year-end. "The government will decide the future course of action after studying the report," he said.
The project will come as a major relief for the people staying at Qurm Commercial Centre. Mohamed Azhar Iqbal, an expat businessman from Sri Lanka, who resides in Fanja House in Qurm, said that people living in the villas and residential complexes, including Fanja House, Sohar House, Al Asfoor and Ramis House, were affected badly by Cyclone Gonu. The move to widen wadis and commission new bridges will help reduce traffic jams and will also ensure the smooth flow of storm water to the sea, he said.
To view the complete magazine, please click on the link below or copy and paste into a new browser window.Link:http://server4a.pressmart.net/theweeknew/)
theweek@apexstuff.com
MUSCAT, Aug 19: Two out of four bridges, being constructed by the Muscat Municipality at Qurm, will be ready for commissioning soon.
The four bridges are part of the RO22mn project aimed at curbing traffic congestion and flooding at the commercial centre at Qurm.
These bridges also form part of the government's plan to construct a 3.5km long and 22m high dam at Amerat heights in the Muscat governorate to protect the populated areas in Amerat and Qurm from major floods like the one caused by Cyclone Gonu in June 2007.
Eng Abdullah bin Mohammad al Saadi , director-general of roads in Muscat Municipality, told TheWeek that the two bridges across Wadi Adai to A'Nahdha street near Al Harthy Complex will be opened for vehicular traffic in November, while the third bridge will connect Al Wallaj street and Al Araimi complex/Khamis plaza and the fourth one is from Sultan Showroom to BMW Showroom.
Wadi Adai, which traverses through several parts of the Muscat capital area, especially from Al Harthy Complex upstream to Capital Commercial Centre downstream in Qurm, has been flooding the areas close to it. The flow of storm water into the wadi is hampered due to inadequate cross-drainage provisions across A'Sultan Qaboos street/A'Nahda street, resulting in water-logging in the surrounding areas.
Moreover, vehicular movement on the service roads between the commercial area of Al Araimi Complex/Al Khamis Plaza and Al Wallaj street and between Sultan Showroom and BMW Showroom is hit even after a drizzle. "These locations are being upgraded to withstand storms for more than a century," Abdullah said.
The structures of the bridges include post-tensioned I-girder superstructures with cast-in-place deck slabs supported on concrete pier caps, columns and foundations. These foundations are deep enough to ensure that no damage is caused to the bridge during the floods. The project, reported to be one of the biggest in the Muscat Municipality in the last few years, also includes upgrading the culvert along A'Sultan Qaboos street near the Royal Oman Police headquarters.
Meanwhile, civic officials have taken up cleaning of major wadis in the city on a large scale to prevent flooding. The civic house is also de-silting wadis at Seeb, Bausher, Muttrah, Amerat, Quriyat and other places. They are trying to remove the debris that was deposited in these wadis during cyclonic Gonu. "We want to ensure that rain water from the mountains flows to the sea without any hindrance," he said.
The government has already appointed a consultant to prepare a master plan for constructing a drainage system for the city. He is expected to submit an initial report by this year-end. "The government will decide the future course of action after studying the report," he said.
The project will come as a major relief for the people staying at Qurm Commercial Centre. Mohamed Azhar Iqbal, an expat businessman from Sri Lanka, who resides in Fanja House in Qurm, said that people living in the villas and residential complexes, including Fanja House, Sohar House, Al Asfoor and Ramis House, were affected badly by Cyclone Gonu. The move to widen wadis and commission new bridges will help reduce traffic jams and will also ensure the smooth flow of storm water to the sea, he said.
To view the complete magazine, please click on the link below or copy and paste into a new browser window.Link:http://server4a.pressmart.net/theweeknew/)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Restraint please, HIV/AIDS on rise
By V L Srinivasan
VL.Srinivasan@apexstuff.com
MUSCAT, Aug 11: Ministry of Health officials are a larmed by the number ofHIV/AIDS cases that have been reported in recent times. As many as 100 new HIV cases have been reported every year in the last decade. “Oman is categorised as a low prevalence country by the UNAIDS; we do not want to be complacent, which could worsen the situation in the country,” Dr Ali Ahmed Salim Baomer, head of the AIDS section in the Ministry of Health (MoH), told TheWeek.
According to MoH figures, the first ever HIV positive case in the country was detected in 1984. Currently, there are 1,119 Omani nationals living with HIV/AIDS,
while close to 500 have succumbed to the condition. But with the life expectancy of these patients set to increase due to better treatment now available for HIV/AIDS, it is expected that the number will swell in the coming years. Seventy-five per cent
of the cases reported are males.
Additionally, 100 new HIV/AIDS patients of other nationalities are reported every year. The ministry’s Orientation Document prepared for the ‘HIV/AIDS Social Communication Campaign’said young people are the most affected, with nearly half the cases – 47 per cent – being between the ages of 20 and 35, and 12.4 per cent affecting people under 20. Though sexual transmission is the most common mode of transmission, cases resulting from drug use are also of concern. The numbers are alarming for ministry officials because abstinence is the social norm in this
country and young unmarried men and women are expected to conform to it. It is risky behaviour among a section of the youngsters that has given risen to the current situation,officials believe.
Due to the strict vigil kept in blood banks – in both government and private hospitals – since 1994, not a single case of HIV/AIDS caused by blood transfusion has been reported. All cases reported are a result of unprotected sex, sharing
needles to inject drugs and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT).
The Orientation Document also stated the ministry’s concern over the level of awareness on HIV/AIDS prevention among the younger generation. While most secondary
school students – 98 per cent – said in a survey that they had heard about the condition, and over 90 per cent of them knew the modes of transmission, there were also numerous misconceptions. Fiftynine per cent of the adolescents surveyed said HIV/AIDS was transmitted by sharing utensils with a patient.
“To address these concerns, we launched the bilingual (Arabic and English)awareness campaign ‘Let’s Talk AIDS’ through mass media,” Dr Baomer said. The campaign is part
of the Oman National ResponseStrategy and Plan of Action launched in December 2007.
“But the biggest hurdle officials face in executing our plan are the cultural taboos. These prevent open discussion on sexual behaviour and drug abuse.”
The campaign includes presentations by celebrities and people living with HIV/AIDS to draw the attention youngsters to the problem. “We are also planning to involve nongovernmental organisations to supplement our efforts in spreading the message against drug addiction and for taking care of people infected with HIV/AIDS.”
But there aren’t many NGOs in Oman working in this field becauseof the taboos attached to it. One that i s here is the Youth Peer Education Network. “We are not only asking people to protect themselves from the disease but also fighting the
myths and misconceptions about it,” said Khamis Said Mohammed al Alawi, who leads the network's activitiesin Oman. “With Y-Peer already in the field, we are hopeful that more organisations will join the fight against the scourge of HIV/AIDS.”
To view the complete magazine, please click on the link below or copy and paste into a new browser window.Link:http://server4a.pressmart.net/theweeknew/)
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