Bio-medical waste under water Act purview

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, March 27

The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has brought the bio-medical waste under the purview of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, to ensure its apt disposal.

An official of the SPCB said the provision had been introduced since the liquid chemical-laced waste emanating from hospitals and diagnostic labs was not covered under the existing arrangement where only the Bio-medical Waste Management Rules were applicable for disposal.

All hospitals, irrespective of number of beds, medical colleges as well as diagnostic labs will now have to seek consent to operate and establish permission from the SPCB. Time will be granted to hospitals and labs to seek this permission. New hospitals and labs will have to seek permission prior to initiating their operations and requisite facilities will have to be set up to deal with such waste on the premises.

As per the existing arrangement, hospitals and labs have been sending their bio-medical waste to common bio-medical waste plants at Solan, Kullu and Kangra. There are 764 hospitals and labs in the state that have been registered under the Bio-medical Waste Rules so far.

The officials said the health authorities had been asked to furnish a list of labs and hospitals running in various districts across the state. Since all labs and hospitals will now be covered under the air and water Act, the number of such units was estimated to go up to 10,000.

Ayurveda, homeopathic hospitals as well as AYUSH hospitals have also been brought under the purview of the new arrangement.

The officials said the reason for introducing the new provision was that the presence of chemicals in the liquid waste discharged by hospitals often disrupted the growth of bacteria essential for scientific disposal in waste management plants. This would ensure that the liquid waste was disposed separately and in a scientific manner without any threat to the environment.