Hospital Waste: Tamilnadu

Tamilnadu is proud to have many hundreds of ultramodern hospitals and many thousands of petty clinics, nursing homes and minor hospitals. To meet the needs of 60,000,000 people the number hospitals and health care centers are insufficient. Around 63% are literate in this 130058 sqkm area. Railways stretch to above 3938 kms. But still with many infrastructures and with wide variety of floating population health care needs and disposal of medical wastes are yet to be pondered into seriously.

The most sophisticated and most popular hospital like Apollo hospitals has its head quarters here in Tamilnadu. It has 32 hospitals around the world with 570 beds, 3300 people on its role 420 doctors 2600 support personnels in its Indira Prastha Medical Corporation in Delhi for which Apollo has obtained the gold seal of quality from Joint commission International of the US. Totally in 32 hospitals owned by Apollo there are 7000 beds and 16000 employees. This is the only hospital in Chennai which takes utmost care for its medical waste disposal. To maintain quality and to attract multivarious patients from various countries the management in Chennai head office has a team of service minded staff to clear all medical wastes. Due to this IMCL obtained ICI certification eventhough 5 hospitals like Ramachandra Medical Hospital, Chennai Wockhardt in Mumbai, Manipal hospital in Mangalore etc were in the que.

Actually Chennai, India attract 160,000 foreigners for treatment from Europe, middle East and Canada with an earning of $33 million year. So there is a competition to improve health environment in the hospitals in Tamilnadu. But still more to be done as illiteracy, negligence and lack of civic sense dominates majority of the population.

The statisticians say that 33585 kilos of medicals wastes are generated everyday. It covers all medical centers, veterinary hospitals, petty nursing homes, test laboratories, maternity hospitals, district health care units etc.

It is staggering to note that annually about 5 crores kilos of medicall wastes are produced and the enviromentals fear that it would spread dreadful diseases like cancer; Aids and contagious diseases to the future generation.

The recently renovated Govt. general hospital is along the river Cooum which is the dirtiest river in India. Rs. 104 crore have been spent to reconstruct this 7 starey twin tower Hospital run by govt. of Tamilnadu with 18 lifts, parking facilities to accommodate 100 cars, a conference hall to accommodate 250, centralised AC, 700 doctors, 1800 beds, 17 surgical units with digital camera, video conferencing facilities for surgeons, Asias biggest blood bank, 57 male nurses and female nurses 450. For such a vast hospital to maintain the disposal of medical wastes is not an easy job. So the govt. decided to leave it to private parties thro open tender. Around 50 persons have been posted temporality to manage the wastes. Bone bank is another specialty in this hospital. This is the only one in India says the Dr. Mayilaganan. To cater the needs of the poor, metal plates are fixed at free of cost in his hospital even though other hospitals charge Rs.30,000 to Rs. 40,000. Bones available here have been imported from Bone bank of Ceylon. The doctors say that they can preserve bones for 5 years with the equipments they possess.

Inspite of so many advanced facilities the unusable, most contaminated river Cooum spoils the whole Mega project. Unless severe steps are taken to clear all the medical wastes properly, the river along this hospital will become another godown of medical wastes thrown out by this multicrore vast hospital. As it caters the needs of the poor, many thousands will throng everyday and upkeep itself is a big project. These poor are uneducated and lack decorum. So the fascinating hospital area will turn into a slum if proper check is not done. Spitting, vomitting, defecating along the corridors, sit outs, lounge and balconies will have to be watched every 24 hrs and it has to be cleared then and there.

Disposal of medicines by the inpatients and outpatients will also a big head ache. Several stainless steel waste baskets have been provided but lack of civil sense will only make the area scattered with unwanted wastes.

Coimbatore is another big city in Tamilnadu. It is popular for textile mills and textile business. It is said that about 600 tonne of municipal and medical wastes are generated per day in this city out of this 35 tpd are recyclable waste say the authorities. This huge waste is dumped in Vellalore compost yard a few Kilometers away from heart of the city.

The municipal corporation of Coimbatore intends to start a recycling plant as well as a plant for composting waste on BOT basis by engaging private investors and companies. This recycling plant will be built in Ukkadam. The area allotted is 5 acres for a lease basis of 25 years.

As huge waste along with medical wastes are created every day. The corporation has assured to supply 50 tonnes of recyclable non-biodegradable waste day per day at the site at a royalty of Rs.5.50 per tonne.

The corporation is keen to give opportunities to private parties to form a solid waste treatment plant with segregated, biodegradable municipal solid waste and organic manure at Vellalore compost yard. For this project 15 acres of land will be allocated. The corporation will ensure to supply 50 tonnes of biodegradable garbage per day at the site at a royalty Rs.5.50 per tonne. This is expected to expand to 100 tpd in future years.

The investor has to provide internal approaches, sheds, electrification platforms, drainage and plumbing.

Since the corporation of Coimbatore is keen in eliminating the wastes spreading of bacterial diseases can be avoided. If the project fail to come out successfully then the entire city will be contaminated with virus to spread filaria, diphtheria and skin diseases say the environmentalists.

The wastes from this hospital contains sharp needles which have caused contagious diseases. The chemical wastes have resulted in skin diseases and eyesores say the research workers. The disposed wastes mix with the river flowing along it to spread foul smell and virus infections. We can see a battalion of pigs always wandering along this coouum river to add more infection and damages. The medical wastes join with the domestic wastes of millions living in Chennai city to make it more dangerous. Environmental hazards due to pungent smell spoils the atmosphere where this multicore renovated hospital stands with pride (?).

There is a rule and law that if any individual gets affected due to improper handling of medical wastes then that hospital authorities will be considered as a crime. Inspite of this many under developed hospitals ignore the rules and regulations in disposal of hospital wastes.

Take for example KAPV medical college govt. hospital a leading hospital in Trichy, a leading town in Tamilnadu.

It has many hundreds of beds and doctors. As the poor have to fully depend upon such hospitals, many hundreds of inpatients and many thousands of outpatients throng this hospital everyday for treatment. The reports from environmentalists have revealed that all rules and regulations to dispose off medical wastes have been ignored badly. Cotton wastes with blood stains, injection needles with contamination, Glucose bottles stained bandages, medicine wastes are found thrown out at the corner of hospitals in heaps. One could see dogs and crows digging the wastes and causing a much more nasty atmosphere. During rain showers all the wastes spread and spoil the area around and also the ground water. This water mixes with roadside drains where many residents inhale throughout the day. School going Children are the most affected by this calamity to environment Expired medicines, cydo toxic medicines partly used medicines are to be buried safely. But that practice is not followed there says the environmentalists. The situation is still worse for economically underdeveloped hospitals and clinics in Trichy.

Human limbs, bedspreads, pillows with infections and puss, surgical Knives, used and unused scissors, cotton bandages etc should have been disposed and destroyed to avoid spreading of diseases. But it is not done so.

In Uyyakondan canal in Trichy one could witness medical wastes heaped like a mini hill. If this situation continues then Trichy will be a place for plague, cancer, diptheria and Aids shouts an environmentalist.

Let us see the wastes generated in Tamil Nadu

The study on environment has been neglected for a long period in many educational institutes and school syllabus. So this has aggravated the seriousness of poor waste disposal in hospitals.

In the newly built govt. general hospital in Chennai the VIPs staying in Air-conditioned room alone escape from the stinking smell of the Cooum river flowing nearby. The environmentalist loudly protest that multi care investment has been wasted as the river contamination and unhealthy atmosphere will cause additional virus infections if any medicine, food or bed sheets kept exposed. Continuous monitoring and cleaning with powerful antibiotic floor cleaner and dishwashers can alone save the poor patients. Through they have increased the number of beds and more sophisticated facilities the mortuary accommodation remains the same. So managing the dead bodies will be a big burden feels a social worker.

The statisticians say that major Indian women weigh less than 40kg and about 80% adolescent girls are anemic due to poor intake of nourishing food items. To take care of the Indian women many agencies have sprouted in India. But very few care for the environment in hospitals which is the root cause of all blood cancers, AIDs, diptheria and Malaria.

The contaminated wastes of hospitals in Tamilnadu ignore the waste treatment operations like multiple chamber pathological waste incinerator, rotary kiln incinerator and controlled air incinerator.

Steam sterilization, dry heat sterilization, gas vapour sterilization and radiation sterilization are not followed meticulously by the hospitals in backward areas. Rural population gets the most number of contagious diseases laments the environmentalist.

Though Exnora, a NGO group of environmentalists work day and night to clear all the garbages in Chennai still much more is to be done. It is advised that servants, assistants and supervisors posted in hospitals should not only possess a degree or diploma but should also undergo vigorous training thro’ environmentalists like Exnora. Then only the surroundings of Tamilnadu hospitals will be neat and tidy to safeguard the suffering patients undergoing treatment there.

Due to this heaps of hospital wastes in many places not only in Tamilnadu but also in many parts of India the water has been polluted. Let us see the polluted values determined by environmental research students

Table 1

Consumption of Pesticides in India

Table 2

Pesticides Association of India: Product-Wise Production of Technical Grade Pesticides in India

Table 3

Recommended Limits for Pesticides in Drinking Water, in

Table 4

Relative Persistence of Some Pesticides in Natural Waters

STATISTICS OF WASTE WATER AND INDUSTRIAL WASTES IN INDIA

COLLECTED BY ENVIRONMENTALIST RESEARCHES

Table 1. Physico – Chemical Characteristics of municipal wastewater near village Nayajupura, in mg / L

Table : 2, Physico – chemical characteristics of municipal wastewater near Shamli bus stand, in mg/L

Table : 3, Physico – chemical characteristics of combined industrial waste in Uttarpradesh in mg/L characteristics

Table : 4, Physico – chemical characteristics of Mansurpur sugar mill waste, in mg/L

Table : 5, Physico – chemical characteristics of Kali river water in Uttarpradesh at upstream section, in mg/L

Table : 6, Physico – chemical characteristics of Kali river water at downstream section, in mg/L