Introduction: Biomedical Waste Management

The authorization for biomedical waste treatment is mandatory as per the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The first enactment for biomedical waste was made in 1998 which is Bio-medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998. The recent amendment in the act was made dated March 28th, 2016 as Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016. It is applicable to Projects involving Hospitals, dispensaries, pathological laboratories, nursing homes, Veterinary institutions, Clinics, blood banks, research or Pathological laboratories, animal houses, Ayush hospitals, health camps, vaccination camps, first aid rooms, blood donation camps, forensic laboratories, first aid rooms of schools, etc. the prescribed authority for the enforcement of these rules is State Pollution Control Board(SPCB)/Pollution Control Committee(PCC) and the health care unite which comes under the Ministry of Defense shall be regulated by Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS). The Biomedical waste treatment rules prescribe the duties of the Operator of a Bio-medical Waste Treatment Facility. The rules make the licensing mandatory for the Project Proponent. 

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Biomedical waste in Ayurvedic Hospitals and Management practices 

Biomedical wastes are the wastes which generates during the treatment of living habitats, diagnosis or related research activities conducted by Institutes or waste generates in health camps.

The waste generated for the treatment of sick persons at Ayurvedic Hospitals has a potential health Hazard to the Ecosystem and public surrounding the area. There are several Biomedical wastes generated during the Ayurveda treatment such as Tissues, body parts, discarded blood, gloves, syringes, catheters, other medical supplies oils, plant decoction waste, buttermilk, leaf extract, fresh leaves, burnt ashes, bhasma, arsenic, mercury, etc. 

The biomedical waste generated through this process is mostly biodegradable and can be managed through deep burial methods. 

For a healthy Environment, the proper management of biomedical waste and disposal facilities becomes important. The management of waste is carried out through various processes such as the Generation of waste, handling, and accumulation of waste, storage facilities, transportation, treatment, and disposal. 

Adoption of Medical Waste safe handling methods is very important looking at the environmental and health hazard through this activity. Unregulated waste treatment poses a serious threat to human beings and natural habitats as the presence of Carbon dioxide (CO2) Methane, and greenhouse gas (GHG), the presence of which causes global warming and climate change. 

The management process of the waste generated in ayurvedic treatment are:

• Incineration: Residues, bye products;
• Landfill: Biomedical Waste ashes after incineration;
• Proper Drainage: of the Liquid wastes;
• Reuse of Oils through fomentation technique to the same person (mostly these products are non-reusable as these products are contaminated).

Authorization for Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility

Person requires Authorization

The Persons handling projects such as  Hospitals, dispensaries, pathological laboratories, nursing homes, Veterinary institutions, Clinics, blood banks, research or Pathological laboratories, animal houses, Ayush hospitals, health camps, vaccination camps, first aid rooms, blood donation camps, forensic laboratories, first aid rooms of schools, etc requires authorization from the Regulatory bodies before starting the project.

The handling of Biomedical Waste requires authorization for the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB)/Pollution Control Committee (PCC). The first-timers if selected gets the authorization for 3 years for the bedded health care facilities (HCFs) and permanent for Non bedded health care facilities.

Application Procedure

• The Occupier of a Project has to first supply the application form in form II along with the application fee in the form of DD in the name of Member Secretary of the state pollution Control Committee;
• The State Pollution Control Committee sends the authorized persons for the examination of the plant and Checks the Compliance Status to decide the issue of Bio-medical Waste authorization.
• Subsequently, the Bio-Medical Waste authorization is processed by the Pollution Control Committee.
• After getting valid authorization only the person shall start handling a Bio-Medical waste treatment facility.

In The Online Mechanism:

• The applicant has to open the SPCB portal of the state concerned.
• Register using personal details at the portal (Personal Information)
• Generate the Id’s password.
• Go to the home page of the portal and log in, fill out the application form and create your unit and category of affluent.
• Select to apply for NOC/Certificate permission, Choose your project unit and select the department, and service you are seeking, then proceed to submission the application.
• Pay the prescribed fee.
• The application shall be submitted to the concerned regional office, which will proceed further with the application, inspection shall be conducted within 7 days,
• Regional offices have the power to approve or reject the application.
• The certificate shall be uploaded to the portal from where applicant can download the Certificate.

Documents Required For The Application Of BMW Treatments

The following are the documents which are required at the time of filling out the application:

• Form-II along with the Category of Biomedical waste from the four categories.
• Application fee in the form of DD
• Copy of the agreement from the plants and facility for the final disposal of the generated waste from there.
• Certificate of Establishment
• Consent to Operate Certificate (if available)

If the applicant is submitting the application for renewal of registration, he needs to submit the compliance certificate of the past year along with the above-mentioned documents.

Categories of Biomedical waste 

Application Fee

The application fee at the time of filing the application needs to submit it as per the Category of the project such as:

For Clinics, Pathological lab

Conclusion

The biomedical waste in hospitals during Ayurvedic treatment is much higher in comparison to the waste generated in the past. Today the use of natural products are very less and Industrial products are used in high quantity, which requires a proper disposal mechanism, most of them cannot be naturally destroyed. Today waste goes through a process such as segregation of waste at the source, recycling and reuse of products of proper products, than management of wastes through the scientific mechanism for the interest of society and the environment.