Welcoming the Centre's decision to come out with new bio-medical waste management rules, the CSE today termed it as "comprehensive" and said it was needed for patient safety and protection of environment.
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said the next step should be to ensure strict implementation of the rules by ensuring segregation of waste into infected and non-infected components and strict monitoring of hospitals and waste treatment facilities by imposition of penalties.
"This is a significant step forward, as the existing rules of 1998 have been revamped, with the major change coming in the reduction in waste categorization from the existing 10 categories to only four.
"It is estimated that 484 tonnes of bio-medical waste is generated every day in India out of this, 447 tonnes are treated. The rest of the waste enters the environment. Since this waste contains infectious pathogens, it needs to be ensured that the waste is treated and disposed of properly," CSE said.
The Centre recently notified new rules for the management of bio-medical wastes in the country that prescribe more stringent standards for incinerators to reduce emissions and envisage the creation of a bar-code system for bags containing such refuse.
The Environment Ministry's Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, also bring vaccination, blood donation and surgical camps under its ambit while providing for pre- treatment of laboratory and microbiological waste and blood samples and bags on-site as prescribed by the World Health Organisation and National Aids Control Organisation (NACO).
CSE said that the new notification is believed to be simpler for hospitals as according to them, a reduction in waste categorization will minimize the confusion faced by waste-handlers and other health care workers who handle bio-medical waste directly.
CSE has found the new rules to be "comprehensive" which clearly define the roles of all stakeholders, waste-generators and waste treatment facility operators, local authorities, state governments and pollution control boards.
"It is important to get the rules implemented at the earliest," CSE said.
CSE said that its visits to medical facilities have
revealed shocking facts on the current handling and disposal practices of bio-medical waste which raises serious doubts on the government estimate of 92 per cent compliance level.
Besides hospitals and clinics, waste is generated at places such as blood donation camps, vaccination camps and so on. "Therefore, the move of including these camps into the ambit of medical waste is a good decision. However, an action plan needs to be designed on how to monitor these camps and the waste they generate," it said.
"Next step should be to ensure strict implementation of the Rules by ensuring segregation of waste into infected and non-infected components.
"Strict monitoring of hospitals and waste treatment facilities, imposing penalties, making hospitals responsible for waste management -- are some of the measures that need to be taken," CSE said.
In India, there are around 198 Common Bio Medical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF), while 28 new facilities are coming up and all these are handling and managing wastes in a sustainable manner.
"The new notification is expected to give an impetus to bio-medical waste management practices," it said.
Elaborating on the way forward, CSE said that all CBWTFs will have to ensure operational standards are notified for running incinerators while hospitals will need to phase out use of chlorinated plastic bags, gloves and blood bags within two years from the date of notification of these Rules.
The CSE analysis said being a signatory to the Stockholm Convention, India may benefit from the phasing out of chlorinated plastic bags, gloves and blood bags, as most of the time these items end up in incinerators, causing huge emission of dioxin and furans.
It said that hospitals have been asked to provide training to all their health care workers and others involved in the handling of bio-medical waste at the time of induction and, thereafter, at least once every year while also reporting on the details of training programmes conducted, number of personnel trained and those who do not undergo training in the annual report.
The green body said that the hospitals have been asked to immunise all their health care workers and others involved in the handling of bio-medical waste for protection against diseases including Hepatitis B and Tetanus.
