“Prevention is better than cure” This is a famous idiom which doctors used to write at the end of the prescription while prescribing medicines to each patients. But what about the biomedical waste containing the germs of sick persons, which is generated from all the medicals and animal institutions while treating the sick persons, animals etc.? All such waste is generally dumped at the outskirts of the city, into rivers or sometimes one can even find it in the municipal dustbin next to any hospitals of any other locality. There, poor people, street dogs and cattle usually search for edible foods by scraping through the dustbin. Sometimes, one can even find a human fetus in the municipal garbage, where street dogs tear it apart to feed on it.
It has been found that rag pickers have previously collected the syringes, glass bottles of the salines, IV drips of bottles and blood bags made of plastics. They sell them to a rag purchaser who uses those bottles for recycling, or sometimes they are sold without recycling if anything like syringes is found intact. While collecting such substances or appliances, sometimes the rag pickers get hurt or pricked from the sharp waste which is dangerous to their health. Moreover, waste sharps may cause tetanus, Hepatitis B and C, AIDS and many other infections if they are not sanitized before disposal.
Recently, biomedical waste management has become a great concern for environmentalists, as there is a great risk of spreading germs in a society, as well as the pollution of the air, water and land if the waste is not managed/treated properly.
Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. DEFINITION OF BIOMEDICAL WASTE
2.1 CATAGORIES OF BIOMEDICAL HAZARDS
3. PROBLEMS REALETING TO BIOMEDICAL WASTE
3.1 DUMPING OF BIOMEDICAL WASTE
3.2. HEALTH ISSUE
3.3. ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION
4. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOR SAFE ENVIRONMENT AND JUDGEMENTS
4. SUGGESTION
5. CONCLUSIONS
1. INTRODUCTION
The issue of Biomedical Waste was discussed first in International level by World Health Organization, Regional Office of Europe in the year 1983 at Bergen , Norway[1].
When we talked about environmental pollution, we know that many kinds waste products were generated from Industries sectors, automobiles sectors, Medicals/ Nursing homes and from our homes etc that caused pollution in the air, water and land and spread diseases like Asthma, Hepatitis B and C, jaundice, malaria etc. Even though Government has framed different polices to control the every kind pollution but still somewhere due to the loopholes in law, we fail to control pollution.
Due to modernization and a fast growing population , life of peoples become so busy and hectic that no one is concerned for the health of others. Moreover, even sometimes knowingly or unknowingly we try to avoid circumstances, which can cause great danger to our life as well as to others also. And one of such danger is biomedical hazards.
Whenever we get ill, we use to run to the hospitals for treatment. And for diagnosis certain test is conducted or sometimes we get hospitalize. But ever we tried to enquire about the different types of wastes which are daily generated from the hospitals or who are the staffs who handle these biomedical waste products. And how much this biomedical waste can be dangerous to human beings and also to the environment. And how this waste is treated before dumping and where they dumped it.
The Honorable Supreme Court of India in Dr. B.L. Wadehra versus Union of India and Others, (1996) 2SCC 594, has discussed about the different types of waste generated from the Industries and Hospitals and how they were treated. In this case, Supreme Court said that it is the constitutional right of the citizen to have pollution free air, water and to live in a clean city[2]. In addition, certain direction were even given to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and New Delhi Municipal Council for the management of solid waste including biomedical waste.
And it was after this case, The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 was enacted on 27th July 1998 under Environment Protection Act, 1986.
Today biomedical waste has become a great concern for the entire environmentalist in the world. Because most of us, use to neglect this issue even though we are aware of the fact that how much it is dangerous, infectious and nuisance. Moreover, the way they are treated, handled and dumped without following the rules mentioned under The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 are more dangerous to life and environment
2. DEFINITION OF BIOMEDICAL WASTE
“Biomedical waste, also known as infectious waste or medical waste is defined as solid waste generated during the diagnosis, testing, treatment, research or production of biological products for humans or animals. Biomedical waste includes syringes, live vaccines, laboratory samples, body parts, bodily fluids and waste, sharp needles, cultures and lancets.[3] ”
And according to the definition given in the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 “Bio- medical waste means any waste, which is generated during the diagnosed, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities pertaining thereto or in the production or testing of biological.[4] ”
2.1 CATAGORIES OF BIOMEDICAL HAZARDS
As per Rule.4 of The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, “it shall be the duty of the “occupier[5] ” of an institution generating biomedical waste to take all steps to ensure that such waste is handled without any adverse effect to human health and the environment”[6].
The category of the biomedical waste is mentioned under Schedule 1 of Rule 5. Rule 5 (1) of The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 says about the manner and way how it should be treated and disposed under Schedule I of the same.( Table.1)
Rule 6 of The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 deals with “Segregation, Packing, Transportation and Storage of the biomedical waste[7] ”. Rule 6(1), strictly says that the biomedical waste should not be mixed with other waste. Rule 6(2) says that biomedical waste should be segregated first in accordance to Schedule II of the same and that also prior to its storage, transportation, treatment and disposal. In addition, the container should be labeled according to Schedule III. The Chart for Categories of Biomedical Waste is given under Table-1 and the chart for Colour Coding And Type Of Container For Disposal Of Biomedical Wastes is given under Table-2.
TABLE-1
CATEGORIES OF BIOMEDICAL WASTE[8]
Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten
TABLE-2
COLOUR CODING AND TYPE OF CONTAINER FOR DISPOSAL OF BIOMEDICAL WASTES[9]
Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten
[...]
[1] Sacchidananda Mukherjee and Debasis Chakraborty,” Environmental Scenario in India: Successes and Predicaments” ( Abingdon: Routledge, 2012), 189
[2] Dr. P.S. Jaswal and Dr. Nishtha Jaswal,”Enviromental Law”3rd Edn,(Faridabad: Allahabad Law Agency,2009),169
[3] Yamini Ugender, “Biomedical Waste Definition”, eHow Contributor, http://www.ehow.com/about_5452204_biomedical-waste-definition.html(accessed August 21, 2014)
[4] Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 http://envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/biomed.html (accessed August 21, 2014)
[5] Ibid., See.Rule 3(4) for definition of Occupier
[6] Dr. P.S. Jaswal and Dr. Nishtha Jaswal,”Enviromental Law”3rd Edn,(Faridabad: Allahabad Law Agency,2009),429
[7] Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, Rule 6.
http://envfor.nic.in/legis/hsm/biomed.html (accessed August 21, 2014)
[8] Ibid. Schedule I of Rule 5.
[9] Ibid., Schedule II, Rule 6
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