{"id":32915,"date":"2024-11-29T17:49:07","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T12:19:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=32915"},"modified":"2024-11-29T17:49:08","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T12:19:08","slug":"biomedical-waste-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-11-2024\/biomedical-waste-management","title":{"rendered":"Biomedical Waste Management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Environment Pollution and Degradation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mishandling of biomedical waste still poses risks, particularly in resource-limited settings.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Biomedical Waste<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It refers to any waste generated during the <strong>diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of humans or animals,<\/strong> or in related <strong>research activities.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This waste is often contaminated with <strong>potentially infectious materials<\/strong> and can pose a significant risk to public health and the environment if not managed properly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bio Medical waste consists of:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Human anatomical waste like tissues, organs and body parts;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Animal wastes generated during research from veterinary hospitals;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Microbiology and biotechnology wastes;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Waste sharps like hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpels and broken glass;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discarded medicines and cytotoxic drugs;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Soiled waste such as dressing, bandages, plaster casts, material contaminated with blood, tubes and catheters;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Liquid waste from any of the infected areas;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Incineration ash and other chemical wastes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concerns:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Biomedical waste can carry various health risks, including the transmission of diseases like HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If not disposed of properly, it can contribute to environmental contamination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Biomedical Waste Management<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It involves collection, segregation, treatment, and disposal.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Autoclaving:<\/strong> Sterilizing the waste using steam and pressure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Incineration:<\/strong> Burning the waste at high temperatures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chemical disinfection:<\/strong> Using chemicals to neutralize pathogens.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Land disposal:<\/strong> For non-hazardous waste after proper treatment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Waste Management in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India generates around<strong> 700 Tonne per day (TPD)<\/strong> of biomedical waste approximately and about 640 TPD is treated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India has a combined treatment capacity of 1,590 TPD.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Despite having a surplus capacity, 20 states are still using <strong>captive treatment measures and deep pit burials for disposal.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It provides a framework for the management of biomedical waste (BMW) generated from healthcare facilities and other related sources.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Provisions:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Segregation and Storage: <\/strong>BMW must be segregated at the point of generation into different categories (e.g., infectious, hazardous, non-hazardous, etc.).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Waste should be stored in color-coded bins and containers, as per the prescribed categories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Categories of Biomedical Waste:<\/strong> It defines seven categories of biomedical waste (e.g., human tissues, sharps, discarded medicines, body fluids, and microbiological waste) and specify color coding for disposal:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Yellow: Infectious waste (e.g., contaminated items, body parts).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Red: Contaminated plastic items.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blue: Glassware (e.g., bottles, vials).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>White: Sharps (e.g., needles, scalpels).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Black: General waste (e.g., paper, plastic).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Treatment and Disposal: <\/strong>Waste disposal should be done in compliance with the guidelines set by the rules, ensuring that it does not pose harm to public health or the environment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Authorization and Record-Keeping: <\/strong>All healthcare facilities must obtain authorization from the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) for handling and disposing of biomedical waste.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Proper record-keeping of the quantity, treatment, and disposal of biomedical waste is required.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Waste Disposal by Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWTF):<\/strong> Healthcare establishments can send their biomedical waste to a Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF) for treatment and disposal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Key Amendments (2021): <\/strong>The rules introduced an extended timeline for compliance with waste management norms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s biomedical waste management market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7-8%.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The quantum of waste generated is expected to be troublesome if the gaps and leakages are not managed.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All SPCBs need to conduct the gap analysis to estimate the leakages and use their discretion, so newer CBWTFs can be constructed and their operational radius can be determined.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All stakeholders from the user to the occupier to the processors need to be tracked so any premeditated leakages can be avoided.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.thehindu.com\/ccidist-ws\/th\/th_delhi\/issues\/109449\/OPS\/G8DDL8BUF.1+G0NDL8C8S.1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mishandling of biomedical waste still poses risks, particularly in resource-limited settings.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32915"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32916,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32915\/revisions\/32916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}