An Appraisal of Biomedical Waste Management in India
The Government of India has notified Biomedical Waste (Management and handing) Rules, 1998 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and is applicable to all persons who generate, collect, receive, store, transport, treat, dispose, or handle biomedical waste in any form.
Abstract
The Government of India has notified Biomedical Waste (Management and handing) Rules, 1998 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and is applicable to all persons who generate, collect, receive, store, transport, treat, dispose, or handle biomedical waste in any form. It shall be the duty of every occupier of an institution to handle biomedical waste without adverse effect on human health and the environment. An occupier is a person who has control over the institution and includes a hospital, nursing home, clinic, dispensary, veterinary institution, animal house, pathological laboratory. The task of segregation, packaging, transportation and storage are important steps for safe and proper disposal. The rules provide that it shall not be mixed with other wastes and shall be segregated and labeled into containers or bags at the point of generation. A biomedical waste facility generally known as the common waste treatment facility is an important provision to tackle the problem of biomedical transportation and disposal.