Medical waste found on P.E.I. property owned by group with ties to Buddhist community
CBC
The provincial government has investigated the discovery of a small amount of unsecured medical waste on a rural property in eastern Prince Edward Island.
The land is owned by Moonlight International Foundation, a non-profit with ties to the Buddhist community in the province.
The Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action said in a statement that the amount of waste would fit into a small garbage bag. Staff inspected the location near Murray River on Wednesday, and provincial representatives were contacting the property owner about having the waste cleaned up.
Photos obtained by CBC News via drone show what appears to be vials filled with blood, used testing strips and other medical waste products in a loose pile on the ground. Some of the material has writing in Chinese characters.
Cyndi Wang with the Moonlight International Foundation said in an email that the group learned about the medical waste through correspondence with CBC News.
"This is truly a regrettable situation — something that would deeply concern anyone who cares about protecting the environment," she wrote. "We're very sorry for the worry this may have caused."
Wang said the organization will now contact the appropriate department to locate the waste and make sure it's handled properly.
She said the Moonlight International Foundation aims to preserve the natural ecosystem of the land, and small portions of the property are being used to grow organic crops.
"Our goal is to ensure a safe and healthy environment," she said.
"This year, we've invited two highly respected organizations in the field of ecological restoration — Tzu Xin Foundation from Taiwan and MacPhail Woods in P.E.I. — to help us make better use of our land."
Belfast-Murray River MLA Darlene Compton, who represents the district in which the waste was found, said she's heard concerns from several residents in the area.
Compton said a report was originally made about the waste in late May, but the person sent the information to a COVID-era email account that was no longer being monitored.
On June 30, the Department of Environment told CBC News it had not received a complaint.
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