Hospital Waste Disposal

Abstract

Hospital wastes pose a significant impact on health and environment. From this study it can be said that there is an urgent need for raising awareness and education on medical waste issues. Proper waste management strategy is needed to ensure health and environmental safety. For further study, it is needed to collect more information on impacts, disposal and management to draw clear conclusion. Biomedical waste management is one of the biggest challenges of the present day times because it has a direct impact on the health of human beings. Since it is hazardous in nature its safe and proper disposal is extremely important. For proper disposal management of biomedical waste the Ministry of Environment and Forests has published the Bio-Medical Waste Rules, 1998. This review explains the hospital waste management and the environmental problem in India. This study also focused on the problems associated with Biomedical waste. In the past, medical waste was often mixed with municipal solid waste and disposed in nearby landfills. In recent years, many efforts have been made by environmental regulatory agencies to better manage the biomedical waste. Need to collect information and examples from developed country or the country, which has sound medical waste management system. Find alternatives and appropriate technologies for developing countries. Need extensive study on this medical waste and its management aspects as well. All over the world, there is an exodus of people from villages to cities, partly for education and employment and partly because agriculture has become less and less profitable. It is estimated that 65% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2030. The infrastructure required for this lop-sided growth of the cities is resulting in mountains of garbage collecting in the unplanned extensions in larger cities, because of poor conservancy services and lack of civic amenities. It is estimated that the domestic garbage produced per day in Mumbai is of size of an eight stored building complex. The quality of air in the surroundings of the cities is so poor that it is estimated about two million children under five die each year from respiratory infections Falling in line with the general situation, we find certain public places like hospitals, vegetable, fish and other market places, Railway stations, Bus stands, Parks and Cinema halls are maintained unhygienically contributing to the spread of infectious diseases. It is wonder how the elite like doctors and higher officials who work in such public places and spend major part of their day time in these places are callous to the environment. Particularly, hospitals generate an enormous amount of dangerous waste. The amount of solid waste generated by hospitals has been increasing rapidly in developing countries like India and its management can no longer be ignored. Increasing concern for community health standards and pollution control requirements demand that the huge mass of infectious waste be rendered as harmless as possible before it is disposed. Against this background, an attempt is made in this paper to discuss the problem of disposal of wastes in Indian hospitals and various legislations relating to environmental protection in general and Bio-medical waste (Management and Handling) rules,1998 (amended in 2000) based on the environmental (protection)Act, 1986 in particular. This Paper also suggests a few measures for the effective management of waste disposal. The objectives of this study were: (i) to assess the waste handling and treatment system of hospital bio-medical solid waste and its mandatory compliance with Regulatory Notifications for Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, under the Environment (Protection Act 1986), Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Govt. of India, at the chosen KLE Society's J. N. Hospital and Medical Research Center, Belgaum, India and (ii) to quantitatively estimate the amount of non-infectious and infectious waste generated in different wards/sections.