Pollution Control Board Notice to 8 hospitails

The Kerala State Pollution Control Board has issued show causes notice to eight hospitals (see box) in Ernakulam disteict over improper biomedical waste management.

According to the board, these hospitals have been found failing in the collection, segregation, treatment and disposal of biomedical waste.

The notice says that the hospitals have to show cause within 15 days why they should not be closed down.

Last month, the board directed all hospital in the state to improve their bio waste management system. The officials were of the opinion that only a few hospitals had satisfactory biomedical waste treatment and disposal facilities. Many incinerators were found not to meet the specified criteria and in some hospitals the waste was not segregated.

The Kochi Corporation also had asked the hospitals to take adequate measures to prevent mixing of their waste with the general waste. Even though many hospitals claim that they have implemented various methods to manage waste, there have been complaints about biomedical waste being dumped in various places across the district.

Some institutions like Krishna Hospital have installed PAB Reactors to treat boo waste like placenta. “We have not received the notice. I do not know what the problem is. We have a very good waste management system.” Says Fr Mathew Muttomthottil, Director of Lisie Hospital.

The board is examining the causes of other hospitals in the district. It is planning to take stringent measures in this regard as the careless management of waste has found to cause many diseases.