What are the impacts of biomedical waste?




  • Dumping of medical waste in the open or disposal of untreated waste can be dangerous.

  • A host of infectious diseases is linked to toxic medical waste while garbage collectors, along with those living close to medical centres, are especially at risk.

  • The disposal of untreated waste in landfills can lead to the contamination of drinking, surface and ground water if those landfills are not properly constructed.

  • The disposal of untreated waste in landfills can cause diseases in animals as well. Animals may consume infected waste and eventually, these infections can be passed on to humans who come in contact with them.

  • It is often found that biomedical waste is dumped into the ocean, where it eventually washes up on shore.

  • The treatment of healthcare waste with chemical disinfectants can result in the release of chemical substances into the environment if those substances are not handled properly.

  • Inadequate incineration or the incineration of unsuitable materials results in the release of pollutants, including carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) into the air.

  • Incineration of medical devices with heavy metals (in particular lead, mercury and cadmium) can lead to the spread of toxic in the environment.

  • If safety measures are not followed, health workers, laboratory personnel and transport workers will also be affected.



 



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What is the treatment of biomedical waste?




  • As of 2016, India was generating about 484 tonnes of bio-medical waste per day, from its 1,60,000 health-care centres. It was estimated that the country would generate 77.5 tonnes of medical waste per day by 2022. A 100-bed hospital generates 100-200 kg of hospital waste every day, according to a study.

  • Of the total amount of waste generated by health-care activities, 15% is considered hazardous that may be infectious, toxic or radioactive.

  • Segregation, treatment and transportation, depends on the type of bio-medical waste. Incineration, deep burial, local autoclaving, microwaving, chemical disinfection, mutilation and shredding and discharge into the drains, followed by disinfection are some of the ways that medical wastes are managed in India.

  • Colour-coded containers are used for disposal of biomedical waste.

  • India’s bio-medical waste management is ruled by the Bio-medical Waste Management Rules 2016. According to the rules, blood samples and microbiological waste should be pre-treated on-site before being disposed of. It also planned to introduce a bar-coding system, where all biomedical waste containers or bags are going to be tracked by the government. This is to ensure that the movement from its manufacturing to treatment facilities is monitored.

  • Common bio-medical waste treatment facilities (CBWTFs) are involved in managing waste. According to the 2016 rules, a CBWTF within 75 km of a healthcare centre has to ensure that waste is collected routinely and regularly.

  • The ruling also extends to vaccination camps, blood donation centres and surgical camps.



 



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What are the types of Bio-medical waste?



Infectious medical waste: These are waste materials that can pose a risk of infection to humans, animals, and the overall environment. This includes blood-stained bandages, surgical waste, human or animal body parts, cultures and swabs.



Sharps waste: This includes syringes, needles, disposable scalpels and blades.



Chemical waste: Solvents and re-agents used for laboratory preparations, disinfectants, metals such as mercury in devices such as broken thermometers and batteries.



Pharmaceutical waste: Unused, expired and contaminated medicines.



Radioactive waste: Products contaminated by radionuclides, including radioactive diagnostic material or radiotherapeutic materials.



 



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What is bio-medical waste?



Morning walkers of Clifton Beach, Karachi, Pakistan, were in for a shock recently as the golden sand was covered in garbage, which included a large amount of bio-medical waste. The tide had brought with it several blood vials and open syringes to the shoreline. Pakistani media criticised the government for going easy on hospitals and research centres that continue to dump toxic waste in the open or directly into water bodies.



To story is not different in India. Despite regulations against the dumping of medical waste in the open, loads of them are disposed of in landfills along with other garbage every day. Other rules of segregation and safety measures are also flouted in some places. Coming in contact with such waster or open burning can prove harmful to the environment and our health.



Waste generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunisation of human beings or animals in hospitals and clinics and during experiments in research labs are all biomedical waste. It includes used syringes, blood-stained cotton bandages, used I-V tubes, scalpels, blades, glass, microbiological cultures, discarded gloves, and linen. It also includes human or animal tissues, organs and body parts and fluids. Biomedical waste may be solid or liquid.



 



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Is farmers are the only reason for air pollution?



Farmers are not the only reason for air pollution.  Stubble burning does contribute to Delhi’s pollution in a major way, but it is episodic and depends a lot on wind direction and other meteorological factors. According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), about 65% of pollution in Delhi is due to local sources.



Dust is a major contributor to air pollution. Unpaved roads, and digging for various infrastructural construction expose the loose soil, contributing as much as 17% of the particulate matter (PM) in the air. A TERI-ARAI study published in 2018 on PM 2.5 emissions showed that transport contributed 39%, road dust 18%, construction activities 8%, followed by power plants 11% to the air pollution in Delhi. Pollution mitigation efforts should take these factors into account.



 



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What did Supreme Court order say about stubble burning?



On November 6, the Supreme Court of India ordered an incentive of Rs 100 per quintal for small and marginal farmers who engage in the management of the residue of their non-Basmati variety rice crop in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.



The SC Bench also ordered the States to distribute crop residue management tools and machines to small and marginal farmers free of cost. The States need to use their own funds to finance the scheme, it said.



Meanwhile, it asked the Delhi government to submit an action plan to deal with issues of garbage dumping and burning, pock-marked roads and the state of traffic congestion in the capital city. The court gave the government three weeks to repair the potholes.



 



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Why don’t farmers take up alternative options to stubble burning?




  • Even with capital subsidy, machines like Happy Seeder are not considered economical, as their demand is seasonal. The high cost of the machines and the rising price of diesel put pressure on farmers. For them, stubble burning is a cheaper option. A Happy Seeder machine is priced at Rs 1.5 lakhs. Though the government offers a 50% subsidy on the purchase of Happy Seeders to individual farmers, the machine still remains unaffordable. Also not all tractors are capable of pulling a happy seeder along, only those with a capacity of 65 horsepower would be able to drag an additional device mounted on it.

  • Farmers remain sceptical about the efficiency of these machines. They fear the machines will affect productivity and damage the soil. Besides, they feel using machinery is time-consuming.

  • The farmers have expressed that the number of machines provided is extremely inadequate.



How can stubble burning problem be solved?




  • The equipment has to be supplied quickly and in good numbers. There are reports that subsidized agromachines being provided by the government have not reached many villages and whenever given, the number is too low.

  • It is important to find other uses for stubble such as biomass, which may encourage farmers to look for alternative sources of income.



 



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What are the alternative options available for stubble burning?



Farmers can use devices such as mulchers (that cut up grass, leaves, etc., for use as mulch), rotavators (a machine with rotating blades for breaking up or tilling the soil), Happy Seeders and straw management system to manage and utilise stubble.



Happy Seeder is nothing but a tractor-mounted device which can cut and lift the previous crop (in this case the rice straw) and sow a new (wheat) crop in its place simultaneously. It also deposits the straw over the sown area as mulch. Mulch enriches and insulates the soil.



The straw management system involves the use of a machine attached to a harvester chopper, which spreads loose straw uniformly. Here, the straw serves as mulch.



Straw could also be used as feeder.



(However, farmers in these regions report a lower preference for paddy straw because of the comparatively high silica content in it. There are also reports of wheat straw rejection due to fuel spillover during harvesting by machines.)



 



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Why do farmers resort to stubble burning?



Farmers have to clear the stubble soon after harvest so as to prepare the field for sowing the next crop.



For clearing the farm waste, they usually have a short span of 10 to 15 days during which they prefer burning the stubble to other methods as it is considered the cheapest and least time-consuming solution. The residue and stubble are an important source of organic matter for the soil. Burning off this organic matter will gradually reduce soil organic matter levels. Burning can made the soil hotter and drier on the surface, creating a hard seedbed. Burning can temporarily seal the soil surface to some extent. Burning will result in the loss of some of the volatile nutrients, such as nitrogen, in the residue. Phosphorus and other minerals are not volatilized by burning and will remain on the field in the ash, unless the ash is blown away.



 



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