Efficient bio-medical waste clearance is as important as efficient handling of the Coronavirus crisis. Else we will have to face a secondary wave
Imagine a public health epidemic of colossal proportions that also doubles up as a threat for the environment close on the heels of the devastating COVID-19. This is a possibility that can well turn out to be true if the mounting bio-medical waste generated while battling the pandemic is not managed and disposed properly. At the last update, COVID-19 had already caused a loss of 90,000 lives in India with a further 5.6 million active cases. This state of affairs can get considerably worse if a callously disposed bio-medical waste triggered a secondary wave of infections across the nation. Countless hospital premises, morgues, cremation grounds, ambulance parking lots and even garbage dumps in residential locations are replete with carelessly discarded PPE kits, gloves, suits and masks. This is in spite of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines that clearly state that COVID-19 related waste must be double-bagged and labelled. However, looking at the waste lying around, it is clear that this is not being followed and needless to say, these items carry the virus that can spread to healthy people, especially sanitation workers and those involved in sorting waste at landfills and waste incinerators. Delhi has two biomedical waste treatment facilities that can handle 63 tonnes of medical waste per day. But a study by Toxic Links noted that much of this waste is being disposed of as municipal solid waste. To make matters worse, many of the facilities generating this waste were not registered with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
The study’s findings also revealed that 27.9 per cent of the hospitals did not have mandatory needle cutters whereas 34 per cent of the facilities did not have wheeled transportation for medical waste. As a result, the same was carried by hand for disposal through patient areas. Adding to this dismal state, a further 26.4 per cent of the facilities were also found to be disposing liquid medical waste into the public sewage system. With disturbing conditions such as these, India surely is not in a fit condition to handle the contagion-generated biomedical waste. The gravity of the condition of bio-medical waste generation and its disposal can be gauged by the fact that the Union Home Ministry had to answer queries for the same in the Rajya Sabha recently. According to a paper published in ScienceDirect, India, the country currently generates approximately two kg of medical waste per bed, which includes anatomical, cytotoxic and sharps, but this is set to increase manifold due to the pandemic. Before the impact of the outbreak became acute, Delhi on an average generated 25 tonnes of medical waste but this output jumped to 349 tonnes per day in July. Similarly, Mumbai’s per day waste generation went up from 12,200 tonnes in June to 24,889 tonnes in August. This deluge of waste has caused the already creaky waste management infrastructure to be stretched to its limit. There is an urgent need to address the issue before the metro cities become overwhelmed with biomedical waste and there is a need to follow the Government’s guidelines on this.
As per the rules, the waste needs to be segregated into recyclable and non-recyclable bins and then isolated for 72 hours so that its infectious intensity is neutralised. Medical institutions must be inspected from time to time to ensure that they have the requisite equipment needed to safely dispose biomedical waste. More importantly, the liquid medical waste needs to be sent by authorised bio-medical waste collection companies for requisite treatment and not dumped in the sewage system.
Western nations are setting high standards in Coronavirus waste management and a peek into their practices also tells us why these nations are getting back on their feet faster as far as biomedical waste management is concerned. Some of the best practices being followed in France and Germany include keeping a very strict record of the waste generated by each medical facility and ensuring the same quantity is actually and properly incinerated. Other advanced measures being followed include the usage of sodium hypochlorite solution in regularly cleaning the waste bins in the medical facilities.
France has moved a step further by focussing on the households where quarantined patients are. Waste is being collected at source by the authorities so that no inadvertent cross-contamination occurs. The quarantined residents are able to procure free sealable waste bins from pharmacies on producing their prescriptions, which they can then use to dispose their waste by handing over to the authorities. Germany on the other hand has set up specialised waste incinerating facilities in Bavaria. These measures have helped these nations save themselves from the boomerang effect of biomedical waste and its harmful impact. Efficient bio-medical waste generation is as important as efficient handling of the crisis. This alone will prevent a secondary wave of infection and contamination.
(The writer is an environmental journalist)
