Biomedical Waste Management : PCBA, Dispur not doing enough to arrest menace

Biomedical Waste Management : PCBA, Dispur not doing  enough to arrest menace
Our Bureau

GUWAHATI/DIBRUGARH: Improper disposal of potentially infectious biomedical waste has long been a burgeoning threat to the people of Assam with medical colleges, hospitals, nursing homes, clinics etc springing up here, there and everywhere. Do all these healthcare institutions dispose of the waste they generate properly? A big question! There is a watchdog – Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA) – to monitor any lapses in the disposal of such hazardous waste. Does the board play its role properly? Another big question!

The biggest threat which the residents of the State have been under is – many of such healthcare institutions have state-of-the-art waste treatment machines like incinerators, autoclaves, shredders and the like. However, without skilled operators such machines are of no use for the purpose they have been procured. According to records, the quantum of biomedical waste generated in India is one to two kg per bed per day in hospitals and 600 gm per bed per day in clinics. Around 50 per cent of the waste is hazardous. The biggest threat lies in the fact that in the absence of segregation of potentially infectious biomedical waste from other non-hazardous ones the entire mass of waste becomes hazardous.

Why is the problem so burgeoning when there is the PCBA to monitor any such malpractice? Obtaining authorization from the PCBA for the treatment of biomedical waste is a must for such healthcare institutions. The crux of the problem lies in the fact that most of the healthcare institutions are least bothered about obtaining PCBA authorization. What corroborates this is the 2016 report of the CAG. According to the CAG report, Assam has 1,014 healthcare institutions and only 178 (17 per cent) of them have obtained biomedical waste treatment authorization from the PCBA. The situation has not improved much even today. According to the standing norms, any healthcare institution treating 1,000 patients per month has to obtain authorization for treating biomedical waste from the pollution control board. Assam is a state where violation of rules is a norm.

The CAG report further says that healthcare institutions need to submit their biomedical waste treatment reports to the pollution control board every year in January. The CAG report, however, says that the PCBA is not monitoring it.

The situation can also be eased by the State Government. In the event of healthcare institutions not being able to procure state-of-the-art biomedical waste treatment machines, the State Government can set up common biomedical waste treatment facilities on its own. This is also not happening in Assam. Even as the situation in medical colleges in the State is not that serious, improper disposal of biomedical waste is a big problem in district hospitals.

Whatever the root cause of the problem may stem from, it is the State Health and Family Welfare Department that should take steps to bring the derailed system back on tract. Will the minister heading the department walk the extra mile to bring the system back on track?

Dibrugarh CORRESPONDENT ADDS: The failure to keep pace with changing times has put Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in the eye of a storm yet again. It's unfortunate that the premier health institution, which was started on a limited scale initially, has apparently been unable to usher in many essential changes to meet the exigencies of time. AMCH has seen many projects since its inception; but some of the key issues including pollution, bio-medical waste and environmental concerns have always been slighted. So lukewarm has been the response that the decision to install an incinerator in the campus was taken only after the High Court issued a warrant to that effect, and threatened the then Principal of AMCH, Director of Medical Education, and other officials concerned of dire consequences. Soon enough, with a government outlay of Rupees 1 crore, the incinerator was placed with the aim of burning the solid waste produced by the health institution. Over the years, it also came to be used by the private nursing homes to burn their bio-medical waste. But, amidst all this, the need to have an Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) was given a cold shoulder. That an ETP is highly essential to treat the waste water before discharging the same into drains and water bodies was conveniently overlooked. Much worse, according to the findings of the Dibrugarh Bureau, the ones responsible for carrying the waste to the incinerator often leave it uncovered and seldom wear gloves and other apparels, as mandated by the legal regulations concerning Bio-Medical Waste. Moreover, many private hospitals, in the absence of a special vehicle to carry the solid waste from their premises to the AMCH-based incinerator, carry them in the same ambulance which is used for patients later, thereby exposing them to the harmful radiations. Moreover, the Dibrugarh Bureau has also found that the Health Society of the district, in conflict with the mandate, doesn't have anyone from the Indian Medical Association in its panel of members. Instead, a representative of Assam Medical Service Association has a say in its meetings and decisions, thus placing the efficacy of the Society under suspicion.

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