Waste of clinics, labs poses health hazard

The improper disposal of bio-medical waste by several health centres, mainly dental clinics, primary health centres, community health centres and diagnostic centres poses a health hazard to the general public in twin cities of and Rawalpindi.
Health professionals said that approximately 25 per cent of the total waste generated by health care activities is highly infectious, hazardous and toxic. The waste is disposed of as municipal waste without proper safeguards. Most of the private health care practitioners, especially in Rawalpindi’s Saidpur area, dispose of their syringes, disposable scalpels and blades like normal municipal waste.
Cases have been observed where chemicals, for example solvents and disinfectants, expired, unused, and contaminated pharmaceutical are just thrown away to be picked up by the municipal workers.
Moreover, radioactive matter, such as glassware contaminated with radioactive diagnostic material or radio-therapeutic materials and wastes with high heavy metal content, such as broken mercury thermometers, are thrown away as normal garbage.
The major sources of health care waste are hospitals and other health-care establishments such as laboratories and research centres, mortuary and autopsy centres, blood banks and collection services and nursing homes.
Wastes and by-products can also cause poisoning and pollution, whether through the release of pharmaceutical products, in particular antibiotics and cytotoxic drugs, through the waste water or by toxic elements or compounds such as mercury.
According to health experts, occupational risks may be associated with the operation of certain disposal facilities. Inadequate incineration or incineration of unsuitable materials can result in the release of pollutants into the air. Same is the case at the Polyclinic and PIMS where untreated and improper disposal of waste is causing ailments and serious hazards to human health as the hospital incinerator cannot match international standards while their emergency and wards are working in a residential area of Sector G-6 adjacent to the main building.
Talking to APP, an official of Polyclinic hospital said the hospital had a working incinerator, but half of its waste was transported out of the hospital.” The waste containing iron and glass cannot be burnt in the incinerator. It is usually dumped in suburbs or areas adjacent to the hospital that causes many a disease,” the official.
When contacted, a PIMS official said as a makeshift arrangement, the hospital waste was being sent to the Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi for treatment at an incinerator installed there.
Poly Clinic spokesman Dr Sharif Astori said, “An international standard incinerator has a capacity of 40 to 50kg, but we have an old manual incinerator which dumps 10kg waste daily in two shifts.”
Dr Astori said sanitary workers, scavengers and children collecting garbage and low-grade staff of FGSH were at a high risk of getting infected with viruses like hepatitis B, C and HIV because of their involvement in the treatment of hospital waste.