There is not a single working crematorium in Moldova and while some hospitals do have incineration facilities, their use is forbidden by the National Center for Preventive Medicine. Victor Savin, the director of the Chisinau Municipal Hospital no.1, has told Info-Prim Neo that each year the hospital's maternity department accumulates roughly 8 tonnes of birth remains, which could have been incinerated at the hospital had it not been for the ban of the Preventive Medicine Center. The alternative is to bury the waste inside coffins in a special place at the Saint Lazarus Cemetery. Nicolae Furtuna, the deputy head of the Preventive Medicine Center, has explained that the incineration of biological and medical waste is dangerous for its toxic emissions. “Some hospitals in Europe use incineration, but there it is done in double or even triple-chambered incinerators, where the temperature reaches 1,200 degrees Celsius. However, it has been demonstrated that this procedure is not entirely safe either”, said doctor Furtuna. Saint Lazarus is not only Chisinau's largest cemetery but also Europe's. With nearly 40,000 burial places left, authorities fear its capacity will be used up in 10 years. The construction of crematories has not been yet considered as a solution. In Romania, European experts recommended the closure of crematories. Instead, saturated steam sterilization is one of the alternative technologies that is recommended and used globally to treat medial waste.