A Review on Bio-medical Waste Management Rules in India

  Apoorva gaur,  Shri Aditya Narayan Singh

Bio-medical wastes comprise of human anatomical waste i.e. human tissues, animal anatomical waste (i.e. experimental animal carcasses, body parts, organs etc), items contaminated with blood, expired or discarded medicines, blood bags, microbiology, biotechnology and other clinical laboratory, disposable syringes, waste sharps, broken or discarded and contaminated glass etc. These wastes are potentially hazardous, toxic and highly infectious because of their high potential for disease transmission. Indiscriminate disposal of such wastes poses health risk to human population, especially to health care personnel, sanitary workers, scavenger, rag pickers and also to intra venous drug users. It is of utmost importance that the bio-medical waste is managed in an environmentally sound manner which requires proper understanding of risk associated with the disposal of such wastes and methods for proper segregation, storage, handling, treatment and disposal. Improper or indiscriminate disposal of infected waste from hospitals, nursing home, pathological laboratories etc has led the following main environmental concerns: i. Spread of infection and disease through vectors (fly, mosquito, insects etc) among surrounding population. ii. Spread of infection through contact/injury especially from sharps (needles, blades etc) among healthcare /non-medical personnel and waste handlers. iii. Spread of infection through unauthorised reuse of disposable items such as hypodermic needles, tubes, blades, bottles. iv. Adverse health effect due to use of discarded medicines. v. Toxic emissions from inefficient incinerator. vi. Indiscriminate disposal of incinerator ash/residues. Some PILs filed in the different States of India insisted for framing regulation on bio-medical waste management. The Central Government has notified Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules on 20th July, 1998. These rules apply to all those who generate, collect, receive, store transport, treat, dispose or handle bio-medical waste in any form.

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Unique Identification Number - IJEDR1902002
Page Number(s) - 7-9
Pubished in - Volume 7 | Issue 2 | April 2019
DOI (Digital Object Identifier) -   
Publisher - IJEDR (ISSN - 2321-9939)

  Apoorva gaur,  Shri Aditya Narayan Singh,   "A Review on Bio-medical Waste Management Rules in India", International Journal of Engineering Development and Research (IJEDR), ISSN:2321-9939, Volume.7, Issue 2, pp.7-9, April 2019, Available at :http://www.ijedr.org/papers/IJEDR1902002.pdf