LIQUID BIOMEDICAL WASTE: A SERIOUS THREAT

Biomedical waste in solid form is noticed by everybody but hospitals also generate liquid waste daily in huge quantity. For an example a 150 bedded hospital generating 15/20 thousand liters of liquid biomedical waste from all the departments i.e. OT to canteen, every where the water using is rolling down to a main drain of the hospital finally. This water is a mixed solution of all potential toxic substances discharged by various departments, including the residential area of the hospital, Nurses quarters, canteen etc all.

There are hospitals with open drains with very minimum slope resulting in the effluent flowing down becoming the bathing point and drinking water sources of scavenger birds like house Mayna, Crow and Sparrow. After taking bath in that water birds will sit in the open windows to make themselves dry. The entire process goes unnoticed to most of the staff of hospital. Nobody can do anything other than the Administrator of the hospital; they will have to increase the flow rate of the drain by engaging civil contractor with the consultation of experts and to ensure the proper cover of the drains. To maintain the bed of the drain, bar screen (to arrest if any solid comes on the way of flow) and time to time checking by the sweepers is a must.

So for hospital generating serious infected liquid waste in course of the health care, it is mandatory on the part of the hospital to ensure proper treatment of the same toxic liquids before they discharge the same to the municipal drain for the sake of the public health interest and to protect the surrounding environment.

If hospitals are not doing the treatment of effluent they are contaminating the River through drains. Ultimate destination of waste water is drain to River via many other water bodies. From river it will go further to any of the rivers or tributaries. This unnoticed pollution is causing various health hazard and some new infection, which are puzzling to the doctors. Little are they aware that it is the result of their own deeds. I have seen no other doctor at least in the city of Guwahati to give a damn about proper waste management excepting Dr. Harsha Bhattacherjee, the medical Director of Shree Sankaradeva Nethralaya, Guwahati, whom I have seen to care. But again this is an administrative problem administrator of the same hospital installed an effluent treatment device which has got very low effect and is installed at the worst possible place i.e. close to Canteen. As a result it has become a mere show piece creating a toxic zone.

The Effluent Treat Plant installed by us at Tezpur, Assam, India

My attempt is to bring the correct system to the correct place not to criticize anybody. Biomedical waste disposal service providing cannot be termed as big business. Anyone doing it honestly is doing a great job for mankind and my all respects are reserved for them. We have seen the city drains over flowing in front of the health care institutes and flowing on the road and we are all walking on it even children are swimming in it. Think if not for other then at-least for that little boy. Even Doctors are not spared they may be traveling by car but water is washing the wheel and body of his car hence infection is going up to his residential area which ultimately reaches his drawing room kitchen and even bedroom. Fishes are growing in this toxic water sometimes even Mercury polluted water which are used in vegetation. In the market everyone is under same danger.

The toxic level has gone up to such extent that marine flora and fauna are facing extinction. There was a News Items few months ago that a modern vessel has been launched to monitor the river dolphin In River Brahmaputra. My question would be do they still exist? In winter season it is common to see the washer men washing and drying the hospital bed sheets and aprons which are directly infecting the river and even ground surface water is not spared from contamination. In turns the same water is coming back to our food chain through fish and vegetables growing and with some effect on the

Aeration in full flow in the ETP installed at Nagaland, India

drinking water too.  Most wastes of our society including health care industrial wastes are disposed in water body without any hesitation. Dead bodies are burnt in the banks of river and their ashes are disposed in the river including other

materials of the deceased as rituals. Same about other animals. Today the time has come to see for ourselves the ill effect of merciless act of human on themselves.

Bio indicators have given clean signals that we cannot survive in these water bodies. Birds are dying and migratory birds have changed their habitat because of toxic water bodies where there is no food and they also cannot stay in that water. Water floras are facing extinction and the same can be said about the fishes.

Health care is the most important part of our life. We expect a high degree of careful attitude to words the surrounding atmosphere. They should be absolutely careful when they discharge any liquid in the drain by installing effluent treatment plant to treat the liquid waste as per the guideline mentioned in the govt. gazette. Special attention to be given to water analysis report and flow rate of the drain before designing the plant so that optimum result can be generated by the plant. Once the plant is installed, regular operation of the plant is a must with periodical analysis of discharged effluent by a competent laboratory. To ensure the function of the plant. Much popular and effective system has developed to recycle this waste water and convert it into a standard so that the same water can be reused in Agricultural farming without causing any harm to human being. During last 6 years I have installed more than Six treatment plants including one Bio assay plant. All of them are running effectively and without any fault. Once in 6 months servicing or cleaning once in a year of the plants is a must. By installing ETP hospital can save water also.

Unfortunately most of the hospital do not have such system including cancer hospitals or cancer detection centers. When a new hospital is envisioned, in the blue print, space for ETP should be reserved for proper set up otherwise it become difficult to connect all the discharge line to one drain. Resulting in improper treatment of effluent.

Plant should be installed closed to final ditcher’s line of waste water not close to canteen or in the main gate of the hospital. That may affect the hygiene of the canteen and hospital visitors including hospital as a whole. Selection of place should be done under the care of waste management committee members. Service provider may not have full knowledge about all the discharge lines. Pre and post installation analysis of waste water must be done by the hospital to be sure that plant is functioning properly. If the present picture is not changed any moment any catastrophe may happen.