Hospital chiefs showed off a new $10 million super plant yesterday -- to make oxygen and replace their old incinerator.

The hi-tech unit is a mini-oxygen factory, producing enough of the gas to supply all KEMH patients for at least 25 years.

Now finance executives at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital say the plant will save them $500,000 every year by processing waste more efficiently.

They can make the savings because of reduced energy bills, claiming the Central Utility Plant also passes strict environmental tests.

It also allows KEMH to process all of Bermuda's medical waste -- from both the Island's hospitals, all doctors' surgeries and vets' offices.

Medical waste includes blood samples, bandages, needles, swabs and even body parts.

And hospital boss Neil Crane, director of facilities management, said the old incinerator could now be torn down.

The new plant also allows ugly cooling towers on the hospital roof to be dismantled, he said.

"The incinerator is being replaced by a bio-oxidizer,'' he said, "which is a much more environmentally-friendly way of disposing of medical waste.

"It is a steam-based process, not a fire-based process, and it heats the waste to 2,000 degrees, turning it into carbon dioxide and water vapour.'' He said the new plant, which took 14 months to build, had a life-expectancy of 20 to 25 years.

The plant includes: The bio-oxidiser to dispose of waste; The oxygen generating unit; A new hospital water distribution system; A new fire pump and sprinkler system for the hospital; and A new electrical supply and a state-of-the-art computer system.

Mr. Crane added: "The old incinerator will now be decommissioned and scrapped in the near future.

"The new process produces much better emissions results. And not only that, it saves us up to half a million dollars a year because it is more efficient.'' The oxygen generating unit -- which works by processing compressed air -- allows the hospital to stop importing the gas every month from New Jersey.

And the plant also stores hundreds of spare oxygen cylinders, providing a three-week back-up supply in case the unit fails.

"Our oxygen is piped all round the hospital to individual patient beds,'' said Mr. Crane. "But the difference is that now we can meet all our own needs on-site, plus we can bottle oxygen for the rest of the community.'' Hospital chief executive Sheila Manderson said three board chairpersons and five health ministers had overseen different stages of the new plant project.

Health Minister Nelson Bascome praised the previous Government for supporting the scheme, saying work had moved on "very diligently''.

He added: "Let's pray and hope that this can go on and be an example to the rest of Bermuda.

"It's environmentally friendly and it's not going to plunder our air.'' Hospitals Board Chairman Raymonde Dill said the plant featured "state-of-the-art technology''.

He added: "It makes significant improvements in efficiency and viable solutions to environmental problems.''