By Ali Raza
LAHORE: The Environment Protection Department (EPD) has initiated legal action against a renowned private hospital for disposing of hazardous hospital waste in residential skips on Jail Road, directing all the District Officers (Environment) to start strict monitoring of private hospitals across the province.
Sources in the EPD said, as a first step, the department would issue Environmental Protection Orders (EPO) to the administration of the hospital on Tuesday (today) after which the case would be sent to the Environmental Tribunal.
The EPD spokesman said the department had received a complaint from local residents that Surgimed was disposing of its hazardous medical waste in the local garbage container. He said the issue was immediately referred to the District Officer (Environment) who constituted a team, which inspected the said site and sealed the garbage container.
Sources in the EPD said, after the recent complaint, the department has decided to come hard on the private hospitals, especially those who are not following Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005. They said, so far, the department had served over 750 EPOs to various private and public hospitals while cases of some 200 private and public hospitals were pending in the tribunal.
The sources claimed that the Environment secretary had also contacted the Health Department for the implementation of the HWMR 2005 across the province. They said, under section 12 of the rules, the Health department was supposed to take action against the violators. They said the EPD was initiating action on its own using other provisions of the law.
On the other hand, non-implementation of HWMR 2005 had converted the provincial metropolis into a hub of hospital waste recycling industry, which posed a serious threat to the people as well as the workers involved in this industry. They claimed that only 10 to 15 per cent waste generated by the major city hospitals is incinerated while the rest went to the recycle industry.
Sources said the EPD had already sent notices to majority of the city hospitals for not complying with section 31 of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act (PEPA) of 1997. The section requires all hospitals to dispose of their waste properly, according to the Hospital Waste Management Rules (HWMR) 2005. As per the rules, all hospitals, public or private, are bound to handle and dispose of their waste according to the Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005. The EPD sources added the EPOs had already been issued to the Lahore General Hospital, Jinnah Hospital, Children Hospital, Ganga Ram Hospital, Services Hospital, Mayo Hospital, Mian Munshi Hospital, etc, under section 16 of Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA).
Experts say the re-use of hospital waste poses serious threat to the health of citizens besides the workers and other people affiliated with the recycling industry in Lahore. If infectious waste is not destroyed properly, it will cause many fatal diseases like Hepatitis and AIDS, doctors say adding that the waste also causes skin, respiratory and eye diseases.
Sources revealed that private parties were bringing tons of contagious and infectious hospital waste from across the province in the city for recycling purposes. They said the rackets involved in this illegal trade were bringing hospital waste pack in sacks through trucks.
Majority of the plastic recycling industry is situated along the Bund Road, Shahdara, North Lahore and other far-flung localities. The waste leaked in the open market is supplied to majority of the plastic recycling industry in closed trucks and other vehicles reflecting the ‘strong ties’ of the hospital staffers and the mafia people.
They sources said the plastic industry was manufacturing various items from the recycled hospital waste, like plastic furniture, plastic toys, plastic utensils, bottles and jars, etc. They said the phenomenon was a new revelation for the authorities as earlier it was considered that the hospital waste of local hospitals was leaked out and sold in the local markets to be used in the plastic industry.
They said majority of the factories were established in small houses and converted the hospital waste in small plastic pieces. Many factories are also involved in washing of the used hospital waste such as syringes, urine bags, glucose bottles and blood bags, the sources claimed.
A senior official of the CDGL Environment department said the mafia was involved in sale and purchase of hazardous and infectious hospital waste, earning more than Rs 15 million per day out of which the value of Lahore’s waste was more than Rs 5 million per day. He said only 10 to 15 per cent waste generated by the major city hospitals as incinerated while the rest went to the plastic recycle industry.
All the hospitals, both public and private, are bound to handle and dispose of their waste as per the Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005. The sources said majority of the private hospitals, clinics and pathological laboratories operating in the municipal limits were not observing these rules.
Naseemur Rehman, a senior official of the EPD, said the Punjab government had taken up the issue seriously and the department had already directed all the 35 District Officers (Environment) to closely monitor the hospitals in their respective districts. He said, under the EPOs, administrations of the hospitals were directed to improve the cleanliness condition of their respective hospitals within the next ten days. He said the hospitals were directed to implement the Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005 in true spirit. In case of failure, the EPD would send cases against hospitals in Environmental Protection Tribunal for further action, he said.
Published in Daily The News on Tuesday, January 19, 2010.
LAHORE: The Environment Protection Department (EPD) has initiated legal action against a renowned private hospital for disposing of hazardous hospital waste in residential skips on Jail Road, directing all the District Officers (Environment) to start strict monitoring of private hospitals across the province.
Sources in the EPD said, as a first step, the department would issue Environmental Protection Orders (EPO) to the administration of the hospital on Tuesday (today) after which the case would be sent to the Environmental Tribunal.
The EPD spokesman said the department had received a complaint from local residents that Surgimed was disposing of its hazardous medical waste in the local garbage container. He said the issue was immediately referred to the District Officer (Environment) who constituted a team, which inspected the said site and sealed the garbage container.
Sources in the EPD said, after the recent complaint, the department has decided to come hard on the private hospitals, especially those who are not following Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005. They said, so far, the department had served over 750 EPOs to various private and public hospitals while cases of some 200 private and public hospitals were pending in the tribunal.
The sources claimed that the Environment secretary had also contacted the Health Department for the implementation of the HWMR 2005 across the province. They said, under section 12 of the rules, the Health department was supposed to take action against the violators. They said the EPD was initiating action on its own using other provisions of the law.
On the other hand, non-implementation of HWMR 2005 had converted the provincial metropolis into a hub of hospital waste recycling industry, which posed a serious threat to the people as well as the workers involved in this industry. They claimed that only 10 to 15 per cent waste generated by the major city hospitals is incinerated while the rest went to the recycle industry.
Sources said the EPD had already sent notices to majority of the city hospitals for not complying with section 31 of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act (PEPA) of 1997. The section requires all hospitals to dispose of their waste properly, according to the Hospital Waste Management Rules (HWMR) 2005. As per the rules, all hospitals, public or private, are bound to handle and dispose of their waste according to the Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005. The EPD sources added the EPOs had already been issued to the Lahore General Hospital, Jinnah Hospital, Children Hospital, Ganga Ram Hospital, Services Hospital, Mayo Hospital, Mian Munshi Hospital, etc, under section 16 of Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA).
Experts say the re-use of hospital waste poses serious threat to the health of citizens besides the workers and other people affiliated with the recycling industry in Lahore. If infectious waste is not destroyed properly, it will cause many fatal diseases like Hepatitis and AIDS, doctors say adding that the waste also causes skin, respiratory and eye diseases.
Sources revealed that private parties were bringing tons of contagious and infectious hospital waste from across the province in the city for recycling purposes. They said the rackets involved in this illegal trade were bringing hospital waste pack in sacks through trucks.
Majority of the plastic recycling industry is situated along the Bund Road, Shahdara, North Lahore and other far-flung localities. The waste leaked in the open market is supplied to majority of the plastic recycling industry in closed trucks and other vehicles reflecting the ‘strong ties’ of the hospital staffers and the mafia people.
They sources said the plastic industry was manufacturing various items from the recycled hospital waste, like plastic furniture, plastic toys, plastic utensils, bottles and jars, etc. They said the phenomenon was a new revelation for the authorities as earlier it was considered that the hospital waste of local hospitals was leaked out and sold in the local markets to be used in the plastic industry.
They said majority of the factories were established in small houses and converted the hospital waste in small plastic pieces. Many factories are also involved in washing of the used hospital waste such as syringes, urine bags, glucose bottles and blood bags, the sources claimed.
A senior official of the CDGL Environment department said the mafia was involved in sale and purchase of hazardous and infectious hospital waste, earning more than Rs 15 million per day out of which the value of Lahore’s waste was more than Rs 5 million per day. He said only 10 to 15 per cent waste generated by the major city hospitals as incinerated while the rest went to the plastic recycle industry.
All the hospitals, both public and private, are bound to handle and dispose of their waste as per the Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005. The sources said majority of the private hospitals, clinics and pathological laboratories operating in the municipal limits were not observing these rules.
Naseemur Rehman, a senior official of the EPD, said the Punjab government had taken up the issue seriously and the department had already directed all the 35 District Officers (Environment) to closely monitor the hospitals in their respective districts. He said, under the EPOs, administrations of the hospitals were directed to improve the cleanliness condition of their respective hospitals within the next ten days. He said the hospitals were directed to implement the Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005 in true spirit. In case of failure, the EPD would send cases against hospitals in Environmental Protection Tribunal for further action, he said.
Published in Daily The News on Tuesday, January 19, 2010.
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