Odisha: Private hospital slapped Rs 1 lakh fine for violating biomedical waste disposal norms
Bhubaneswar: An Odisha-based private hospital has been fined Rs 1 lakh along with a warning by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for improperly disposing hazardous biomedical waste near a bus stop.
The BMC commissioner Vijay Kulange imposed the fine during an inspection at the hospital, where they discovered that the hospital had thrown its biomedical waste near a bus stop.
Kulange said, "It was appalling to discover bio-medical waste strewn outside the hospital. Hospitals should behave responsibly and dispose of the waste as per norms."
Speaking to the Times of India, Kulange said, "We have imposed a fine with a warning not to repeat such a practice." The BMC would also be taking action against the hospital under the clinical establishment rule, 2018.
Refuting the allegations, the hospital director S N Pati said, "The biomedical waste was not dumped on the roadside. We had just kept it there temporarily and our staff on Wednesday had gathered there to take the waste to a dedicated waste room when the BMC squads saw us. Nevertheless, we will comply with the rules."
The biomedical waste (management and handling) rules 2011 state that waste products generated from the hospitals, like cotton, needles, body parts, etc., should first be dumped in separate containers at the primary level (in the patient’s ward), following which it was disposed in the incinerator.
BMC officials would be conducting surprise checks around private and government hospitals to inspect if the biomedical waste are thrown properly.
The Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) had banned the burning of biomedical waste because of the release of toxic chemicals, such as furan and dioxin and carcinogenic substance which causes cancer. Smrutiprava Samantroy, a former scientist at OSPCB said, "If the waste is not strewn here and there, it will lead to the release of persistent organic pollutants."
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