Medical care is vital for our life, health and well being. But the waste
generated from medical activities can be hazardous, toxic and even lethal because
of their high potential for diseases transmission. The hazardous and toxic parts of
waste from health care establishments comprising infectious, bio-medical and
radio-active material as well as sharps (hypodermic needles, knives, scalpels etc.)
constitute a grave risk, if these are not properly treated/disposed or is allowed to
get mixed with other municipal waste. Its propensity to encourage growth of
various pathogen and vectors and its ability to contaminate other nonhazardous/
non-toxic municipal waste jeopardizes the efforts undertaken for
overall municipal waste management. The rag pickers and waste workers are
often worst affected, because unknowingly or unwittingly, they rummage through
all kinds of poisonous material while trying to salvage items which they can sell
for reuse. At the same time, this kind of illegal and unethical reuse can be
extremely dangerous and even fatal. Diseases like cholera, plague, tuberculosis,
hepatitis, AIDS (HIV), diphtheria etc. in either epidemic or even
endemic form, pose grave public health risks. Components of Bio-medical waste
(i) human anatomical waste (tissues, organs, body parts etc.),
(ii) animal waste (as above, generated during research/experimentation, from veterinary hospitals etc.),
(iii) microbiology and biotechnology waste, such as, laboratory cultures, micro-organisms,
human and animal cell cultures, toxins etc.,
(iv) waste sharps, such as, hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpels, broken glass etc.,
(v) discarded medicines and cyto-toxic drugs
(vi) soiled waste, such as dressing, bandages, plaster casts, material contaminated with blood etc.,
(vii) solid waste (disposable items like tubes, catheters etc. excluding sharps),
(viii) liquid waste generated from any of the infected areas,
(ix) incineration ash,
Health hazards associated with poor
management of Bio-medical waste
(i) Injury from sharps to staff and waste handlers associated with the health care
establishment.
(ii) Hospital Acquired Infection of patients due to spread of infection.
(iii) Risk of infection outside the hospital for waste handlers/scavengers and eventually
general public.
(iv) Occupational risk associated with hazardous chemicals, drugs etc.