National Green Tribunal has directed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to consider the allegations against Private FH Medical College and Hospital in Agra. It was operating without the consent to operate.
All businesses generating waste need CTE, consent to establish, and CTO consent to operate from the Pollution Control Board. The state government then gives the environmental clearance, EC.
Health establishments under the Air Act, Water Act and hazardous waste rules need a no-objection certificate from the Central Pollution Control Board. According to the Central Pollution Control Board category list of industries, hospitals or healthcare facilities pollute water. The solid hazardous and biomedical waste generated is segregated at the source. The wastewater needs disinfection before it enters the municipal sewage. These establishments, therefore, need NOC from the concerned pollution control board.
The waste generated in hospitals and healthcare facilities is Biomedical Waste or BMW. Hospital waste is infectious and hazardous. Biomedical waste is segregated in bins and treated to make it harmless to the environment.
The possibility of inappropriate management of Bio-Medical Waste causing infections to healthcare workers, patients visiting the facilities, and the community are immense.
The fears about contact with infective microorganisms like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus prompted people to consider the potential risk of biomedical waste.
Bio-Medical Waste is
Infectious waste. Waste contaminated with body fluids, soiled dressings, swabs, and waste from autopsies.
Pathologic waste human tissues. Body fluids and body parts.
Sharp waste syringes, needles, used disposable blades and scalpels.
Chemical waste. Solvents, lab reagents, disinfectants. Mercury from broken thermometers and BP instruments.
Pharmaceutical waste expired and unused drugs and vaccines.
Cytotoxic waste drugs used in cancer treatments.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), high-income countries generate up to 2.5 Kg of hazardous waste per hospital bed per day. The low-income group countries generate 0.2 Kg of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. Low-income countries do not segregate waste. Thus, the quantity of hazardous waste is much higher.
85% of the biomedical waste is non-hazardous, and the remaining 15% is hazardous.
All discarded sharp instruments like syringes, blades, and needles contain pathogens that can enter the human body through cuts and abrasions. There are possible chances of inhalation of biomedical waste that can lead to infections like tuberculosis and pneumonia, AIDS, and hepatitis. The success of biomedical waste management depends on how we segregate waste at the point of generation
Colour-coded dustbins are essential for waste segregation. Each dustbin has a specific colour for the waste.
Black Dustbin Cytotoxic drugs and chemicals
Red Dustbin Soiled dressings, infected dressings, POP cast
Yellow Dustbin Anatomical waste, placenta, pathological waste and body parts
Blue Dustbin Injected plastics, syringes, gloves, plastic waste
White Dustbin Sharps, needles, blades, cut glass
The applications for consent, NOC under the Air and Water Act, are processed along with biomedical waste authorization. State pollution control boards, the Central Pollution Control Board and the medical councils manage the waste generated in these facilities because of their contaminating nature.
References:
1. Bansod, Himani S., and Prasad Deshmukh. “Biomedical Waste Management and Its Importance: A Systematic Review.” Cureus 15, no. 2 (February 3, 2023): e34589. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.34589.
2. Gupta, Pratham P, Nandkishor J Bankar, Vaishnavi H Mishra, Shruti Sanghavi, and Ankit K Badge. “The Efficient Disposal of Biomedical Waste Is Critical to Public Health: Insights from the Central Pollution Control Board Guidelines in India.” Cureus, October 19, 2023. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.47303.
Input from various sources
Rehash/Dr. Swati Sharma
