Treatment of biomedical waste

1. The health care waste has to be treated for its conversion to non-hazardous residue, to contain waste, to avoid human exposure and to contain the residue to avoid its dispersion into the environment.
2. The Biomedical waste rules clearly lay down the treatment & disposal options for different types of waste and it can be seen that at any hospital a combination of methods will have to be used.
3. The selection of treatment method depends upon the prevailing regulations, the quantities to be disposed of, availability of qualified personnel & technologies and the space available.
4. The treatment options are:
   1. Incineration
   2. Chemical disinfection
   3. Autoclaving
   4. Hydroclaving
   5. Encapsulation
   6. Microwave treatment.
5. Such waste which cannot be treated by any of the above methods is normally disposed of in secured land filling by following the standard procedures.
6. Radioactive waste should be sent back to Atomic Energy Authority.
7. Pressurized containers should be sent back to the supplier or to approved recycling centers and should never be burnt.
8. The cost of waste disposal is not large and even in the developed counties it represents only 0.25% of the total hospital cost.
9. Except in large hospitals, the infectious waste is disposed off with general waste
10. The biomedical waste rules make it mandatory for the hospital administration to follow the rules and ensure that the treatment provided satisfies.
11. Standards have been laid down regarding incineration, microwave treatment, for deep burial as well as for the liquid waste.