The Civil Guard has opened an investigation into a company belonging to an American international holding company with a European headquarters in London, for
poor management of Covid-19 healthcare waste,
which has resulted in the arrest of 20 people.
As explained by the Civil Guard this Saturday through a statement, the company
reduced costs in packaging, handling and protective equipment,
with the increased risk of virus dispersal that it entails.
The 'Ribio operation' has focused on the headquarters in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands and Madrid, and also on the headquarters in Portugal.
The managing company
used cardboard boxes as a container to store the infectious bags, in
violation of the minimum safety standards accepted and set by current legislation.
This generated a risk for the workers who handled it, and transported it, especially in subcontracted companies not authorized for this type of waste, and where the transporters did not have qualifications or protocols for action.
Those responsible for the company commit
several crimes related to irregular waste management,
crimes against workers' rights and against public health.
The mismanagement of this waste can directly lead to the application of criminal sanctions with prison terms of two to five years, a fine of eight to 24 months and special disqualification for a profession or trade for a period of one to three years, according to the Civil Guard.
Surveys carried out by Seprona have revealed that
infectious waste was stored in the street
and without the proper packaging, using another type of cheaper packaging.
This modus operandi allowed them to
increase the profits obtained,
which are estimated at 300%, thus earning up to close to one million euros.
The savings in packaging caused a large part of them - by containing liquid substances - to deteriorate and the contents of the bags would end up dispersed on public roads.
The investigated company assumed a volume and type of waste well above the forecast made based on its capacity.
This has led to possible incorrect treatments, which failed to neutralize the viral load and the risk of infection, and, in general, negligent actions that could generate contagion situations.
Those investigated used unauthorized warehouses for the
clandestine storage
of this waste, with which the company increased its management by three tons in just a few months, without the capacity to do so.
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