Govt lax in phasing out incinerators

Rita Dutta - Mumbai

It was in May 2002 that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had signed the Stockholm convention in Geneva for phasing out incinerators. India has also signed and ratified the Kyoto protocol regarding the same. The Supreme Court constituted the Burman committee in 1998 which suggested segregation, recycling and composting as means for managing bio-medical waste. However, as with most policies of the government, no initiative has been taken to phase out incineration.

Deadly: View of an incinerator

The Stockholm Convention, initiated by the United Nations Environment Programme and which has been signed by 122 countries, identified 12 of the most dangerous Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), commonly known as the ’dirty dozen’, including dioxins and furans, and focuses on reducing and eliminating their use.

However, hospitals continue to incinerate under the pretext that the Bio Medical Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 and its Amendment in 2000 mentions incineration or deep burial as one of the technologies to be used for disposing of category I (human anatomical parts), II (animal waste) and V (discarded medicine and cytotoxic drugs) for a city with a population of more than 5 lakhs.

Says Brig Joe Curian, official spokesperson of Association of Hospitals (which has 37 Mumbai-based hospitals as members), "It is the NGOs which are forcing us not to use incineration, even when the BMW Rules mention incineration as one of the technologies." The NGOs allege that most of the hospital-run incinerators are not abiding by the standard as laid down by the pollution control board. Says R Shridhar, Thanal Conservation and Action Network, (TCAN) Kerala, "A recent analysis of incinerators in 150 hospitals in Kerala conducted by us revealed that 50 per cent of them were not following the standards." According to Dipika Desouza, co-ordinator, Mumbai Med West Action Group, "None of the eight hospital-owned incinerators in Mumbai is following the norms of pollution control standards."

Irked by the apathy of the government, 34 NGOs across the country have formed a consortium under the banner of Health and Us- Medical waste Action Network (HuMAN) so that the government takes cognisance of incinerators as a toxic technology and intensify its efforts of phasing out incineration. At the global level Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternative (GIAI) has been formed to protest against the use of incineration. "The Philippines has already banned incineration and other countries are working towards phasing it out. The Indian government also needs to take a stand against incineration", says Renuka Chauhan, co-ordinator, HuMAN and a GIAI member.

According to Gopal Krishna, Toxics Link, New Delhi, "In the name of technology transfer, we are witnessing dumping of outdated technologies which are being phased out world over. What is alarming is that there are proposals in the air to include incinerators in the WTO list of environmental good and services which all environmental organisations are vehemently opposing." He laments, "Several petitions have been submitted to the MoEF about the hazards of emission and to stop incineration, but to no avail."

It may be recalled that the first draft rules of the MoEF issued in June 1995 stated that all 50-bedded hospitals and above must install on-site incinerators and incineration was allowed for as an option for treatment of category- 1,2,3,5 and 6. It was at the behest of different NGOs that the government amended the BMW Rules to limit incineration to category one, three and five, other alternatives were given and centralised facility was also allowed. Now the NGOs are pressing for a complete ban on incineration by amendment of BMW Rules.

According to Jagruti Bhatia, manager operations, of the Mumbai-based Help Organsation for Peope, Environment and Society, "As per the Stockholm convention, the BMW Rules should be amended to remove incineration.” She is against the use of incineration even in the common facility, "as the chances of the emission of dioxin and furan remain in common facility also.” What has irked the activists further is that the World Bank is funding six incinerator projects in India, says Krishna.

Experts say that intensive research needs to be conducted to come out with alternate technologies. Says Dr A K Sabhapathy, president, Qualified Private Medical Practitioners’s Association, Kerala “Deep Burial, autoclave, disinfection and auto digestion by anaerobic method are the alternatives. The association with the School of Environment Studies, Cochin University is conducting field study for the treatment of placenta and human parts by anarobic digestion” Kerala is trying the zero waste management policy in Kovalam whereby emphasis in given on minimising the waste by recyling the waste. A Pune-based gynaecologist is trying out vermi-composting. Globally, Healthcare Care Without Harm had called for design ideas on non-burn techs for biomedical waste management.

"It is high time the MoEF and the Central Pollution Control Board rise to protect the environment," says Bhatia. To which D Edulbehram of Greem Peace, Mumbai, adds, "Hospitals and activists have to form linkages to protect the environment."

rita@expresshealthcaremmt.com