Madhumitha Viswanath By Express News Service CHENNAI: There are around 900-odd hospitals and clinics in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram, but there are only two common treatment facilities in Madurantakam to safely dispose biomedical waste. This in turn has resulted in widespread dumping, especially in the suburbs.Sacks full of used syringes, masks and gloves along with expired medicines are dumped in water bodies and river banks. This could create a health hazard and contaminate groundwater quality, says residents and experts. After repeated reports, Pollution Control Board swung into action to remove biomedical waste dumped along Kundrathur-Porur road. Experts wonder whether this one-time action is enough. For the rest of the State, there are only nine facilities to manage waste from 6,000-odd hospitals and clinics.In comparison Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala have 25 plus such centres. Maharashtra alone has 38 centres to treat solid medical waste. According to the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016, hospitals with more than 1,000 beds are mandated to segregate medical waste into four categories and send it to the nearest common treatment facility. Those hospitals that don’t can be shut down.Jawaharlal Shanmugam, an activist who has been advocating for safe disposal of biomedical waste for the last five years, said the entire system needs to become stricter. Due to loopholes, perpetrators get away, adding, in 2017, a well-known hospital came under the scanner for selling used medical products but they escaped due to political clout,” said Jawahar. “No one takes biomedical waste management rules seriously. Even if such an issue is brought to the NGT, the case eventually gets quashed. Though most hospitals are mandated to have a liquid treatment facility for biomedical waste, only a very few have this setup,” added Jawahar. Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board officials cited resistance from public as the main reason for setting up of treatment plants. “Two plants coming up in Virudhachalam and Tirupur have been delayed due to opposition from public. The public think that they will get diseases if such a plants come up near their homes,” said a senior official. Express alone has reported instances of biomedical waste including expired medicines, being dumped in areas like Anakaputhur, Kundrathur, Vandalur and Poonamallee. Those who want to alert officials about biomedical waste dumping can contact- 044-27454422 (Chengelpet), 9884800236 z(Kancheepuram), 044-26223603 (Chennai) and 044-27664425(Tiruvallur).

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