NGT orders inspection of biomedical waste plants

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered inspection of plants which treat waste in the hospitals of the National Capital Delhi and ensure proper segregation, collection and disposal of such waste.
The waste plants will be inspected by joint inspection team of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
The NGT also directed the team to submit report about manner in which bio-medical waste was being handled by hospitals and situation prevailing in medical institutions adversely affecting human health and environment.
Earlier the tribunal had asked hospitals and clinics to ensure proper collection, segregation and disposal of bio-medical waste.

What is Bio-medical waste?

• Bio-medical waste is any solid or liquid waste including its container and any intermediate product generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or research activities.
• Biomedical waste poses hazard due to two principal reasons – toxicity and infectivity. Bio Medical waste consists of human anatomical waste like organs, tissues and body parts, waste sharps like hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpels and broken glass, discarded medicines and cytotoxic drugs, liquid waste from any of infected areas etc.
• In 2016, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had issued new Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 for proper discarding of the bio-medical waste.
• In India, total bio-medical waste generated is 484 tonnes per day (TPD) from 1,68,869 healthcare facilities (HCF), out of which 447 TPD is treated.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2017