Evaluation of biomedical waste generation and management: A case study in Odisha State, India

Abstract

Biomedical waste is the waste that is generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities pertaining there to, or in the production or testing of biological components. The Biomedical waste treatment and disposal are to be done very carefully, as it is infectious in nature. The present study has been initiated to assess the Biomedical Waste generation and management in Odisha state, India, with the objective to conduct a detailed survey of different Health Care Units (HCUs) and also to record and assess the current scenario of the state Bio-Medical Waste generation & management conducted through primary data analysis via questionnaires and physical quantification methods and secondary data analysis in health care units of all 30 districts of Odisha. As per the field study carried out during the period, there were 1545 bedded and 9408 non-bedded HCUs, which together produced an approximate quantity of 4368 MT/annum of BMW. Around 828 MT/annum (19%) of the total biomedical waste so generated was treated by the existing Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWTFs) functioning in the state, while the remaining 81% of this waste needs to be attended and treated. The study proposes the need for installing four new CBWTFs in different locations of the state in order to treat the larger portion of the unattended biomedical waste and also reveals the lack of proper BMW management systems and awareness regarding biomedical waste management in various HCUs.