reduction, particularly infectious medical waste production, a pri- ority. Finally, governments should seek to increase research in the area of medical waste reduction and treatment though research grants and industry research partnerships. In particular, priority should be given to research with medical equipment suppliers to develop and produce products that release negligible amounts of dioxins or mercury when incinerated. These products will be particularly valuable to developing nations where many waste disposal facilities lack the advanced pollution control technologies used in the developed world to prevent the release of toxic sub- stances produced by waste incineration. As such, these incineration-safe medical products reduce the risk of exposing populations in developing nations to the harmful emissions pro- duced by the incineration of infectious medical waste.