Hyderabad: Major hospitals in State bereft of biomedical waste treatment plant

Hyderabad: None of the major government hospitals in the city have a mechanism to treat the bio-medical waste as it is being flushed into the drains, which directly enters water bodies and causes great harm to the environment and human health. While the State government proposed setting up treatment plants, it remains on paper.

The major hospitals in the city, including Gandhi, Osmania, and Niloufer, thousands of patients visit them while some with chronic diseases. The inpatients who are given treatment use toilets and the wastes generated are flushed in the drains. Along with these, the chemicals used in diagnostic tests also get flushed. The drains are connected to water bodies like Musi and the entire water body gets polluted, resulting in a waste crisis posing a major health risk. In some places, the water taps get drainage water which would again lead to health issues, said experts.

The issue of pollution from bio medical waste had come up during COVID-19 when a report from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) said there were dead viruses in the drain water.

Over 40 sanitation workers had tested positive for COVID-19, and 15 had lost their lives in Delhi because of their involvement in the disposal of COVID-19 waste.

According to the experts, there are set of rules for the hospitals for the disposal of bio-medical waste.

The rules prescribe more stringent standards for incinerators to reduce the emission of pollutants into the environment. Since the pandemic times, the bio medical waste generated per bed has increased by four times. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, the bio medical waste per bed was 500 grams, but now it has become 2.5 kg to 4 kg per bed.

A senior official said that none of the hospitals have bio medical waste management.

The State government had proposed to start the bio-waste treatment plants, but it has been eight months, and the proposal is still on paper. These plants are a huge burden on the government because for one million gallons of bio waste, it would cost more than Rs 1.5 crore.

When asked, the Osmania General Hospital Superintendent, Dr B Nagender, said that the hospital outsourced the work. The medical waste is treated in a treatment plant outside, which is a third party.