More treatment plants for medical waste on the cards

Kancheepuram and Coimbatore districts have two CBWTDF each, Thanjavur, Vellore, Virudhunagar, Salem, Tirunelveli, The Nilgiris and Ramanathapuram districts one each. Three more facilities are in the process of being set up in Tiruvallur, Cuddalore and Tiruppur districts.

On an average, 43 tons of waste from hospitals, labs and clinics generated is handled by these facilities every day.  Noting that there was an increase in the biomedical waste generated, a TNPCB official said that more CBWTDF were needed to handle the mounting waste. “Waste from a hospital should not be stored for more than 48 hours. With increasing waste, there is a need for more such facilities,” the official said.

TNPCB, however, did not quantify the amount of waste that has increased. A board release said it was inviting applications from project proponents to identify suitable land and to establish CBWTDFs.

CBWTDF is a facility that consists of autoclave, shredder, incinerator and secured land fill facilities to treat and dispose the waste.

Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016, mandates proper treatment of biomedical waste generated from hospitals, clinics, dispensaries, veterinary institutions, animal houses, pathological laboratories, blood banks, forensic labs among other establishments.

State Pollution Control Boards are responsible for monitoring proper management of biomedical waste, according to the rules.