Continuing with effecting policy changes, the Government on Sunday released the new Bio-medical Waste Management Rules widening the ambit to include vaccination camps, blood donation camps among others; and establish a Bar-Code System for bags or containers containing bio-medical waste for disposal among others.
“The new rules will change the way country used to manage this waste earlier. Under the new regime, the coverage has increased and also provides for pre-treatment of lab waste, blood samples, etc. It mandates bar code system for proper control.
“It has simplified categorisation and authorisation. Thus, it will make a big difference to clean India Mission”, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said here while releasing the new Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 will be replaced with Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 as per which surgical camps or any other healthcare activity, the use of chlorinated plastic bags, gloves and blood bags will have to be phased out within two years.
Biomedical waste comprises human and animal anatomical waste, treatment apparatus like needles, syringes and other materials used in health care facilities in the process of treatment and research. This waste is generated during diagnosis, treatment or immunisation in hospitals, nursing homes, pathological laboratories, blood bank, etc, a senior official from the Ministry explained.
According to the Government data, total bio-medical waste generation in the country is 484 Tonnes per day (TPD) from 1,68,869 healthcare facilities (HCF), out of which 447 TPD is treated.
Mixing of hazardous results in to contamination and makes the entire waste hazardous, hence it is felt that the new laws will ensure their scientific disposal.
The new rules also mandate pre-treatment of the laboratory waste, microbiological waste, blood samples and blood bags through disinfection or sterilisation on-site in the manner as prescribed by WHO or NACO and existing incinerators to achieve the standards for retention time in secondary chamber and Dioxin and Furans within two years.
Also, the new rules prescribe more stringent standards for incinerator to reduce the emission of pollutants in environment while it will be upon the state governments to provide land for setting up common bio-medical waste treatment and disposal facility.
last week, the Ministry had notified new rules for plastic waste management across the country, replacing the existing ones, instituted in 2011.