Liquid Waste Management

"Bio Medical Water Waste is highly dangerous because of its ability to reach Homes"

Bio medical waste water is generated from Hospitals, Scrub Area – Wash Basin in OTs, Health care centres, Labour Wards, Labs, Dialysis centres, Nursing Units, Dressing centres, Isolation Wards, Toilets, Urinals in ICUs.
Quantity of waste varies between 10 Litres to 150 Litres / bed. General Thumb Rule followed is 50 Litres / Bed.
Bio Medical Water Waste is highly dangerous because of its ability to reach Homes, pollute ground water and drinking water if not handled properly.

Bio-Medical Liquid Waste- What Does it contain?

Infectious Microbes
Blood and Body Fluids with Visible Blood, Amniotic Fluid, Cerebrospinal Fluid, Pleural Fluids etc
Various potential hazardous materials including, microbiological pathogens, disinfectants, drugs, chemical compounds
Laboratory wastes (cultures of infectious agents, cultures from laboratories, biological, discarded vaccines, culture dishes and devices)
Chemical waste – Biologicals
Chemically hazardous
Formaldehyde (obtained from pathology labs, autopsy, dialysis, embalming)
Mercury (broken thermometers, sphygmomanometer, dental amalgams)
Solvents (pathology and embalming)
Radioactive isotopes
Pharmaceutical liquid waste (discarded/unused/expiry date medicines)

Liquid pathological and chemical waste should be appropriately treated before being discharged into the public sewer systems.

Pathological waste must be treated with chemical disinfectants, neutralized and then can be flushed into the sewage system
Chemical waste need to be first neutralized with appropriate reagents before being flushed into the sewer
The Liquid Waste should be stored in a leak proof container, then its disinfected, neutralized and then let off.
In places where there is public drainage System the final output can be let off into public drainage system.
In Locations where there is not public drainage system then the output can be let off into Septic Tank of the institution.
Hospitals that have 50 beds and above should commission a Complete Effluent Treatment Plant.
In most hospitals, the bio waste is not treated and is let off directly into Septic Tank, farms, or landfill.

Issues with the model:

Issues in Sewage Collection Process	Reasons / Problems
Not per PCB / NABH standards	As per PCB and NABH standards Waste Water from hospital should be treated before discharging.
Highly Dangerous	Pose a serious threat to human health and the environment Dangerous and even fatal in causing diseases like cholera, plague, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria etc., in either epidemic or even in endemic form. Illegal and unethical to reuse this water waste untreated.
If Drained into Septic Tanks without treating	Chemicals and antibiotics, detergents, soap, grease and other kill the bacteria and prevents natural anaerobic digestion inside the tank. Natural underground drains in ground would have been clogged over years preventing absorption into soil. No proper Ventilation; Bad odor