Major Sources
-
Govt. hospitals/private
hospitals/nursing homes/ dispensaries
-
Primary health centers
-
Medical colleges and
research centers/ paramedic services
-
Veterinary colleges and
animal research centers
-
Blood banks/mortuaries/
autopsy centers
-
Biotechnology
institutions
-
Production units
Minor Sources
-
Physicians/ dentists’
clinics
-
Animal houses/slaughter
houses
-
Blood donation camps
-
Vaccination centers
-
Acupuncturists/psychiatric clinics / cosmetic
piercing
-
Funeral services
-
Institutions for
disabled persons
Problems Relating To Biomedical Waste
A major
issue related to current Bio-Medical waste management
in many hospitals is that the implementation of
Bio-Waste regulation is unsatisfactory as some
hospitals are disposing of waste in a haphazard,
improper and
indiscriminate manner. Lack of segregation practices,
results in mixing of hospital wastes with general
waste making the whole waste stream hazardous.
Inappropriate segregation ultimately results in an
incorrect method of waste
disposal.
Inadequate Bio-Medical waste management thus will
cause environmental pollution, unpleasant smell,
growth and multiplication of vectors like insects,
rodents and worms and may lead to the transmission of
diseases like typhoid, cholera, hepatitis and AIDS
through injuries from syringes and needles
contaminated with human.
Various
communicable diseases, which spread through water,
sweat, blood, body fluids and contaminated organs, are
important to be prevented. The Bio Medical Waste
scattered in and around the hospitals invites flies,
insects,
rodents, cats and dogs that are responsible for the
spread of communication disease like Plague and
Rabies.
Rag
pickers in the hospital, sorting out the garbage are
at a risk of getting Tetanus and HIV infections. The
recycling of disposable syringes, needles, IV sets and
other article like glass bottles without proper
sterilization are responsible for Hepatitis, HIV, and
other viral diseases. It becomes primary
responsibility of Health administrators to manage
hospital waste in most safe and eco-friendly manner. |
The
problem of bio-medical waste disposal in the hospitals
and other healthcare establishments has become an
issue of increasing concern, prompting hospital
administration to seek new ways of scientific, safe
and cost effective management of the waste, and
keeping their personnel informed about the advances in
this area. The need of proper hospital waste
management system is of prime importance and is an
essential component of quality assurance in hospitals.
Recommendations
When you see the amount of waste generated in a
hospital, plastic represents a very large
proportion. While much of the plastic used at
hospitals has a high value, little of it is
recycled. Within facilities, employees need to be
made aware of what plastics are recyclable, and
there’s the need for space to collect, sort and
store recyclables until they can be picked up. |
-
Every hospital should
have special boxes to use as dustbin for BMW
-
Bio-medical waste should
not be mixed with other waste of Municipal
Corporation.
-
Private hospitals should
also be allowed to use incinerator, which is
installed, in govt. hospital. For this purpose a
specific fee can be charged from private hospitals.
-
Special vehicle i.e.
bio-medical waste vehicle should be started to
collect waste from private hospitals and private
medical clinics and carry it up to the main
incinerator.
-
As provided by
bio-medical waste rules, the whole of the waste
should be fragmented into colours due to their
hazardous nature.
-
Bio-medical waste
Management Board can be established in each
District.
-
Either judicial powers
should be given to the management board or special
court should be established in the matters of
environment pollution for imposing fines and
awarding damages etc.
-
Housekeeping staff wear
protective devices such as gloves, face masks,
gowned, while handling the waste.
-
There is biomedical
waste label on waste carry bags and waste carry
trolley and also poster has put on the wall adjacent
to the bins (waste) giving details about the type of
waste that has to dispose in the baggage as per
biomedical waste management rule. Carry bags also
have the biohazard symbol on them.
For hospitals, some of the
key challenges in implementing waste recovery include
changing |
behaviour, finding storage space for waste and bins
and the logistics of moving waste. It is essential to
minimise contamination by other materials in the PVC
bins. This project ensures that good planning, ongoing
education and liaison with the hospital’s waste
management team and contractors are put in place to
help them overcome these issues.
New
Strategies Of Management
Keeping
the above fact in mind, the following management
strategies are proposed to overcome the problem of
improper disposal of Bio - medical wastes.
-
Segregation of bio - medical wastes should be done
at the sources of generation as per the categories
mentioned in the rule.
-
The
classification of Bio - medical waste with respect
to color coding container has to be done.
-
The
transportation of bio-medical waste is to be done
through desiccated vehicle specially constructed for
the purpose.
-
Proper treatment of different wastes is to be done
after the classification.
-
All
the generations of bio - medical waste should adopt
universal precautions and appropriate safety
measures while doing the therapeutic and diagnostic
activities and also handling the bio - medical
wastes.
-
Training should be conducted to all categories of
staff in appropriate language / medium and in an
acceptable manner.
-
The
annual reports, accident reports as required under
Bio - medical waste rule should be submitted to the
concerned authority as per B.M.W. rules formula.
-
Establish effective and sound recycling policy for
plastic recycling and get in touch with authorized
manufacturers.
-
There
should be co-ordination between hospitals and
outside agencies or non government organizations.
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