A recent study conducted by the School of Environmental Studies (SES) at Kochi, has pointed out that many of the city hospitals have failed miserably in the management of bio-medical waste. According to the survey report, the hospitals have not segregated the waste materials properly and mixed together. Many hospitals has clearly flouted the biomedical waste management Law as it is found that the whole heap of the waste becomes infectious and requires immediate disposal and appropriate management meant for hazardous waste.

The study was conducted by team of experts including Dr. V N Sivasankara Pillai, I S Bright Singh and V Sivanadan Achari of SES, and TV Jacob, retired chief engineer of Kerala Water Authority.

SES was asked to take up the study by Qualified Medical Practitioners'''' and Hospital''''s Association in view of the Union Health Ministry''''s directive for effective waste management system in hospitals to be implemented before December 31.

The SES team, which visited the hospitals as part of the first phase of the survey found out that appropriate and scientific biomedical waste management plan was lacking in almost all institutions. Many collect the waste materials including needles, syringes, ampoules, vials, IV and blood bags and wound dressing separately, but mix them together in the end for disposal either by burning in a drum, burying or unauthorized transporting.

The team also found that no instant disinfections are applied to bio-medical wastes in any of the hospitals visited. Amniotic fluid, blood and placenta are not properly disposed and many hospitals follow the system of making the labour room wastes into a slurry with lime and fine sand and disposing into underground pits or tanks, which the experts found very unhealthy.

In the second part of the survey, the team will evolve workable proposal for segregation of waste at different points of generation and will suggest appropriate treatment procedure. This part of the project is mostly of intellectual exercise through brainstorming sessions of experts in the field concerned, the sources said.

However, the third part of the survey will be conducted after implementation of the proposal in selected hospitals as a performance evaluation. After the evaluation, a final report will be prepared and given to the Qualified Medical Practitioners'''' and Hospitals'''' Association.