The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) rich oil-states including the United Arab Emirates are countries in transition. These countries have become wealthy in recent years through the sale of oil and gas. They have radically changed from tribal lifestyles to become modem societies within a short time frame. The UAE has changed rapidly to become a wealthy modern state within a generation (less than 25 years). The oil revenues have flowed into the UAE starting from the federation of the country, which was in 1971, although oil was discovered in the 1950s in Abu Dhabi Emirate, the largest and wealthiest state in the country in terms of oil and gas resources. Modern medicine and healthcare facilities have recently arrived in the GCC countries; their health services have improved dramatically. As a consequence much more medicallhealthcare waste is being generated. Thus, the concept of medicallhealthcare waste, as well as the concern with such type of waste, have become new issues for these countries. This research focuses on healthcare/medical waste management in the GCC countries, taking the UAE as a case study. As these countries have changed dramatically and become wealthy very recently and rapidly, there has been no comprehensive or accurate literature or research on waste management systems in these countries and none related to medical waste management. Record keeping in hospitals/healthcare facilities or at waste facilities are not necessarily of a good standard because of the lack of monitoring and enforcement. Therefore, reports by government authorities or consultancy companies are neither comprehensive nor precise. An extensive field work inspection was conducted in hospitals and other healthcare facilities as well as to waste facilities, including waste contractors' facilities and waste dumpsite in Abu Dhabi Emirate, to explore the problems and failures in the management of medicallhealthcare waste that currently exist. Furthermore, a survey was conducted to a wide range of healthcare and waste facilities' workers to identify their knowledge, skills, attitudes and training regarding the handling practices and the management of medicallhealthcare waste. The inspections and surveys revealed that the problem is a managerial one not a technical one. State-of-the-art technology is affordable and can be purchased from any where in the world to be used for the treatment and management of medicallhealthcare waste. But as these societies have been changed from a tribal form to industrialized modern ones in a short time frame, they have not had the opportunity to develop management systems that go hand in hand with any modem technology that would be obtained; for example, training skilled personnel to deal with the rapidly changing situation. Consequently, these countries have to rely on immigrant personnel whom are brought from low cost countries. Various ranges of slulled, semi-skilled, and unskilled workers come to the UAE, and other GCC countries, to work in hospitals and elsewhere. The professional or skilled personnel who are brought to work in healthcare facilities have knowledge of hazardous-healthcare waste. But this is not the case with the poorly skilled or unskilled workers who work as waste handlers either in hospitals/healthcare facilities, waste contractors' facilities, or waste dumpsite. They have neither knowledge nor have the skills to handle hazardous waste. Moreover, the survey results reveal that both types of workers (i.e. skilled and unskilled) were not specifically trained to have the skills for handling such waste. They even do not have the awareness on most issues related to the medicalkealthcare waste treatment and management practices in Abu Dhabi emirate. As this research will illustrate these workers need training. A best management practice model for medicallhealthcare waste has been discovered in the Queensland experience, Australia. This has been taken as a yardstick to be followed in Abu Dhabi Emirate and the other Emirates and GCC countries. An environmental management system, based on both the Queensland model and the literature has been developed for hospitalslhealthcare facilities, waste contractors and waste dumpsite in Abu Dhabi. Once the lack of waste management knowledge was identified through the survey, it became apparent that a novel and fundamental feature of the environmental management system was training. A model waste tracking system for the hazardous-medical waste has been developed for Abu Dhabi based on the Queensland model.
