The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) which carried out surprise inspections at some hospitals in the city has recorded gross violations of Bio Medical Waste Management Rules by KIMS Hospital (Minister Road), Care Hospital (Banjara Hills) and Medwin Hospitals (Nampally).
According to a PCB statement, during the surprise inspections, it was also found that about 4.50 lakh litres per day of waste water from operation theatre washings, laboratory washings, floor washings, domestic sewage including canteen and laundry washings was directly discharged into the municipal drain joining Hussainsagar Lake near Ranigunj by KIMS.
A sample of the same was collected and submitted to the Board Laboratory for analysis. Also, KIMS was constructing a new block for which the hospital has not taken “Consent for Establishment (CFE)' from the PCB.
Medwin and Care (Banjara) Hospitals were also not segregating bio-medical waste as per rules and had not provided sewage treatment plants for the waste water generated.
Despite several notices issued by the PCB, the entire hospital's untreated waste water was discharged into municipal drains, it noted in the press release.
As per these rules framed under the Environment Protection Act 1986, the segregation of infectious waste, plastic waste, sharps and domestic waste has been made essential to prevent the outbreak of any infection and contamination through the waste.
Yellow bags in which only human anatomical waste is supposed to go were found to be containing plastic waste also.
Even in the blue bags where only plastic waste has to go, there was general domestic waste like papers, food leftovers, the release said.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) guidelines for disposal of Radio Active Waste were also not followed and the same was being mixed with general waste.
The PCB would initiate further action after receiving reports from the laboratory on the waste characteristics, it added.
