To fully prevent unscientific dumping of biomedical waste, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) wants the Global Positioning System (GPS) installed in all vehicles that carry biomedical waste. This way, the board hopes to track them remotely.
The KSPCB will ask the common biomedical waste treatment facilities (CBWTF) and hospitals to instal GPS in their vehicles. A CBWTF is a set-up where biomedical waste, generated from healthcare units, is given necessary treatment to reduce its possible adverse effects. The board will have a monitoring system to remotely track the vehicles' location.
Speaking to DH, Lakshman, chairman, KSPCB, stressed the need for a strict monitoring mechanism for vehicles that transport biomedical waste. "There are vehicles that collect biomedical waste from hospitals and dump it near the NICE Road junction. We served notice on the hospital after the matter was brought to our attention. Such unscientific disposal could be hazardous," he said. In the past, vehicles have been caught dumping waste on open sites and in waterbodies.
Lakshman said there were several challenges in the disposal of biomedical waste and rued that non-compliance of the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016, had become the norm.
25 hospitals inspected"Recently, we inspected 25 hospitals in the city and found that most of them were not complying with the rules. We had to serve them show-cause notices," he added. Some hospitals are so reckless that they don't even segregate biomedical waste at source and mix it with municipal waste, he said.
The board has uploaded on its website the draft of new zones under which hospitals would be categorised for biomedical waste management. Bengaluru alone generates close to 6,400 kg of biomedical waste every day. Lakshman said that following the visit of the KSPCB team to hospitals, the amount of waste generated had gone up from 30 tonnes to 52 tonnes a day.
A Ramesh, Senior Environment Officer, said that several measures had been put in place to ensure biomedical waste was managed efficiently. "Every year, we submit a report on the status of the facilities and the waste generated. If there are violations, we issue them show-cause notices," he said.
To fully prevent unscientific dumping of biomedical waste, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) wants the Global Positioning System (GPS) installed in all vehicles that carry biomedical waste. This way, the board hopes to track them remotely.
The KSPCB will ask the common biomedical waste treatment facilities (CBWTF) and hospitals to instal GPS in their vehicles. A CBWTF is a set-up where biomedical waste, generated from healthcare units, is given necessary treatment to reduce its possible adverse effects. The board will have a monitoring system to remotely track the vehicles’ location.
Speaking to DH, Lakshman, chairman, KSPCB, stressed the need for a strict monitoring mechanism for vehicles that transport biomedical waste. "There are vehicles that collect biomedical waste from hospitals and dump it near the NICE Road junction. We served notice on the hospital after the matter was brought to our attention. Such unscientific disposal could be hazardous,” he said. In the past, vehicles have been caught dumping waste on open sites and in waterbodies.
Lakshman said there were several challenges in the disposal of biomedical waste and rued that non-compliance of the Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016, had become the norm.
25 hospitals inspected"Recently, we inspected 25 hospitals in the city and found that most of them were not complying with the rules. We had to serve them show-cause notices,” he added. Some hospitals are so reckless that they don’t even segregate biomedical waste at source and mix it with municipal waste, he said.
The board has uploaded on its website the draft of new zones under which hospitals would be categorised for biomedical waste management. Bengaluru alone generates close to 6,400 kg of biomedical waste every day. Lakshman said that following the visit of the KSPCB team to hospitals, the amount of waste generated had gone up from 30 tonnes to 52 tonnes a day.
A Ramesh, Senior Environment Officer, said that several measures had been put in place to ensure biomedical waste was managed efficiently. "Every year, we submit a report on the status of the facilities and the waste generated. If there are violations, we issue them show-cause notices,” he said.