Almost 15 tons of hospital waste are seized at the Port of Suape

A container with medical waste was identified as suspicious by the customs authorities, after a risk analysis of all cargo circulating through the Port of Suape, in Ipojuca, Greater Recife. Therefore, a cargo inspection was requested from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).

The cargo had been declared by the importer as “vinyl chloride polymers”, better known as PVC, but in fact it was hoses, blood bags and other solid hospital waste.

In all, there were 14.8 tons of hospital waste, according to the Federal Revenue Service, in Pernambuco. The contaminated cargo left Portugal and was seized. Inside the bags were various materials used to administer intravenous medications, hoses and blood bags, among other objects, which were also in the container.

In order to carry out the inspection, the Federal Revenue Service sent an official letter to Anvisa on February 16, reporting the fact and requesting support in verifying the cargo.

On Friday (17), Anvisa inspected the goods and confirmed the suspicions. The load, in fact, was hospital solid waste. The case was released this Thursday (23).

The joint inspection by the Federal Revenue Service and Anvisa of the cargo, coming from Portugal, was carried out in the customs area of ​​Porto de Suape. According to the physical inspection, the merchandise was characterized as hospital material waste, whose importation is not authorized.

The merchandise continues to be seized by the Federal Revenue Service at the Port of Suape, until the importer is summoned to arrange for its return abroad.

Tax Auditor Daniela Vieira Cavalcanti, a Customs officer in Recife, recalled that “we had a similar case in 2011, when an importer received some containers with used hospital sheets. In 2021, another occurrence drew attention because we were in the middle of a pandemic and the material could have even been used on patients.”