The following are excerpts from the Environmental Protection Act
1. “Contaminant” means any noise, heat, vibration or substance and includes such other substance as the Minister may
prescribe that, where discharged into the environment,
(a) endangers the health, safety or welfare of persons,
(b) interferes or is likely to interfere with normal enjoyment of life or property,
(c) endangers the health of animal life, or
(d) causes or is likely to cause damage to plant life or to property;
“Discharge” includes, but not so as to limit the meaning, any pumping, pouring, throwing, dumping, emitting, burning,
spraying, spreading, leaking, spilling, or escaping;
“Environment” means the components of the Earth and includes
(a) air, land and water,
(b) all layers of the atmosphere,
(c) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms, and
(d) the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c).
“Inspector” means a person appointed under subsection 3(2) and includes the Chief Environmental Protection Officer.
2.2 The Minister may
(a) establish, operate and maintain stations to monitor the quality of the environment in the Territories;
(b) conduct research studies, conferences and training programs relating to contaminants and to the
preservation, protection or enhancement of the environment;
(c) develop, co-ordinate and administer policies, standards, guidelines and codes of practice relating to the
preservation, protection or enhancement of the environment;
(d) collect, publish and distribute information relating to contaminants and to the preservation, protection or
enhancement of the environment:
3. (1) The Minister shall appoint a Chief Environmental Protection Officer who shall administer and enforce this Act and
the regulations.
(2) The Chief Environmental Protection Officer may appoint inspectors and shall specify in the appointment the powers
that may be exercised and the duties that may be performed by the inspector under this Act and regulations.
5. (1) Subject to subsection (3), no person shall discharge or permit the discharge of a contaminant into the
environment.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply where the person who discharged the contaminant or permitted the discharge of the
contaminant establishes that
(a) the discharge is authorized by this Act or the regulations or by an order issued under this Act or the regulations;
(b) the contaminant has been used solely for domestic purposes and was discharged from within a dwelling house;
(c) the contaminant was discharged from the exhaust system of a vehicle;
(d) the discharge of the contaminant resulted from the burning of leaves, foliage, wood, crops or stubble for domestic or
agricultural purposes;
(e) the discharge of the contaminant resulted from burning for land clearing or land grading;
(f) the discharge of the contaminant resulted from a fire set by a public official for habitat management of silviculture
purposes;
(g) the contaminant was discharged for the purposes of combating a forest fire;
(h) the contaminant is a soil particle or grit discharged in the course of agriculture or horticulture; or
(i) the contaminant is a pesticide classified and labelled as “domestic” under the Pest Control Products Regulations
(Canada).
(4) The exceptions set out in subsection (3) do not apply where a person discharges a contaminant that the inspector has
reasonable grounds to believe is not usually associated with a discharge from the excepted activity.
5.1. Where a discharge of a contaminant into the environment in contravention of this Act or the regulations or the
provisions of a permit or license issued under this Act or the regulations occurs or a reasonable likelihood of such a
discharge exists, every person causing or contributing to the discharge or increasing the likelihood of such a discharge, and
the owner or the person in charge, management or control of the contaminant before its discharge or likely discharge, shall
immediately:
(a) subject to any regulations, report the discharge or likely discharge to the person or office designated by the
regulations;
(b) take all reasonable measures consistent with public safety to stop the discharge, repair any damage
caused by the discharge and prevent or eliminate any danger to life, health, property or the environment that results or may
be reasonably expected to result from the discharge or likely discharge; and
(c) make a reasonable effort to notify every member of the public who may be adversely affected by the discharge or
likely discharge.
6. (1) Where an inspector believes on reasonable grounds that a discharge of a contaminant in contravention of this Act
or the regulations or a provision of a permit or license issued under this Act or the regulations has occurred or is
occurring, the inspector may issue an order requiring any person causing or contributing to the discharge or the owner or the
person in charge, management or control of the contaminant to stop the discharge by the date named in the order.
7. (1) Notwithstanding section 6, where a person discharges or permits the discharge of a contaminant into the
environment, an inspector may order that person to repair or remedy any injury or damage to the environment that results from
the discharge.
(2) Where a person fails or neglects to repair or remedy any injury or damage to the environment in accordance with an order
made under subsection (1) or where immediate remedial measures are required to protect the environment, the Chief
Environmental Protection Officer may cause to be carried out the measures that he or she considers necessary to repair or
remedy an injury or damage to the environment that results from any discharge.
APPENDIX 2 – MODIFIED BURN BARREL DESIGN AND SPECIFICATIONS
A modified burn barrel is typically constructed from a 45 gallon metal fuel or oil drum. The modifications result in greater
heat generation and retention, better mixing of the waste with incoming air and longer holding time inside the barrel.
Together, these modifications result in more complete combustion of the solid waste than does open burning on the ground or
in a pit.
Average 20%-25% of the total waste generated by healthcare establishments is regarded as hazardous and may create an assortment of health and environmental risks if not managed and destroyed in an appropriate manner. 
