Common waste treatment management facility set up
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 24 2013: A common bio-medical waste treatment (management) facility (CBMWTF) has been set up at the complex of Shija Hospitals and Research Institute (SHRI) .

SHRI Chairman cum Managing Director Dr Kh Palin said that CBMWTF has become a must with the advancement of medical science and advent of medical tourism in the State.

Saying that 13 health care establishments have requested SHRI to share the facility with them, Dr Kh Palin said that waste vans would be sent to Churachandpur, Senapati and Ukhrul districts to collect bio-medical waste materials.

However, medical professionals are needed to complete their home works in terms of segregating waste material in order to run the system successfully, Dr Palin added.

Senior Environmentalist of Manipur Pollution Control Board, T Mangi said that although RIMS already has its own mio-medical waste treatment facility, the Central Government-run institute does not share the facility with other institutes while adding that similar facility is under construction for JNIMS as well.

As the facility installed at SHRI has the treatment capacity of 1000 kg per day at the rate of 40-50 kg per hour, he said that the facility would be able to treat bio-medical wastes of Imphal area easily.

MPCB would even monitor/examine the exhaust gas emitted from the treatment plant.

Taking part at the press conference, MPCB Law Officer Th Jitenkumar said that hospitals and medical facilities which do abide by Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 1998 and Environmental protection Act could be penalised.

Most of the private hospitals of Imphal area do not have the required land for setting up CBMTWF, he added.

Saying that the State has 644 health establishments according to a survey conducted in 2012, Jitenkumar said that equipment for the installation of incinerators at eight district hospitals have already arrived.

The waste generated during diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human being are contaminated with patient's body fluids such as syringes, needless, ampoules, organs, body parts, placenta, dressing materials, disposables, plastics, microbiological and biotechnological wastes etc are defined as biomedical waste.

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