Medical Waste Management

Hazards OfBio-Medical Waste:Theproblems associated with bio-medicalwaste are manifold. They are hazardous topeople both within and outsidehealth-care institutions and alsocontaminate the land, air and waterthrough inadequate disposal methods. TheMinistry of Environment & Forestshave made it mandatory for all healthcare institutes to take adequate steps tosafely dispose the bio-medical wastegenerated by them. However, the costsinvolved with disposing these wastesusing the right technologies are veryhigh. The trend all over the world is tomove towards centralised facilities inorder to have better control andmonitoring of the handling and disposalof bio-medical wastes.SalientFeatures of a Typical Centralised SystemTraining...Two personnel fromevery participating institute will begiven training for two weeks onsegregation of the waste and will becertified Hospital Waste Officers. Theywill be responsible for Hospital WasteManagement in their institute.Segregation...Different colour bagsas per bio-medical waste management ruleswill be provided. The filled bags will beplaced in special colour coded, lockable,wheeled, airtight, heat-resistant andbiohazard sign marked waste containers(also provided by us). Containers can bebar-coded and weighed for billingpurposes.Transportation...The waste containerswill be loaded into special trucks andtransported to the central site. The fullcontainers will be exchanged for emptyones.TreatmentAfter transportationto the central treatment site, the wastesare treated strictly as per standardsspecified in 'Bio-Medical WasteManagement & Handling Rules'based ontheir characteristics.Treatment byAutoclaving...Infectious solidwastes such as plastics (blood bags,tubings, catheters, etc.,) sharps, itemscontaminated with blood (cottondressings, beddings, etc.) areautoclaved.Treatmentby Incineration...Haat incinerators,with their vast experience inincineration systems, will provide theirnew age design incinerators for thetreatment and disposal of pathologicalwastes. The segregated pathologicalwastes, collected in non-chlorinatedplastic bags are incinerated inaccordance with the standards.Shreddingand Final Disposal...Disinfected wastes areshredded if required and are eitherrecycled or landfilled.Benefits ofCentralised Bio-Medical Waste ManagementSystemsNo hazardsinside or outside the hospitalNo environmentalimpactIncrease in thehygiene of the hospital and itsappearanceVery lowtreatment costs as compared toindividual treatment facilitiesSafe andpractical segregation, collectionand transport strategiesCost reductionthrough integrated waste managementEnables theinstitute to conform to all legalrequirements by environmentfriendly disposalTheShimlaMunicipal Corporation has set up anincineratornear Indira GandhiMedical College and Hospital for themanagement of bio-medical waste generatefrom health care institutions and othersources like slaughterhouses in the town.SImilar systems are already in use inother Municipal Corporations like Pune,Hyderabad and even at Kathmandu, Nepal.