PUNE: With the number of COVID-19 patients rising in the city, doctors have underlined the need to dispose of the bio-medical waste scientifically. The waste includes Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, syringes, masks etc.
Dr Manisha Naik, the Assistant Medical Officer of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said the waste needs to be disposed of as per the guidelines.
“The bio-waste is treated before being disposed of. It is collected from the hospitals and disinfected every three hours and disposed of,” she said.
Consultant and Head of Microbiology and Infection Control at Jehangir Hospital Dr Vikram Padbidri said that all waste needs to be disposed of as per the biomedical waste segregation code, which means it needs to be disposed of in a double-layered bag.
“All this waste goes into the yellow bags and then incinerated. All PPE goes into yellow bags, which are then incinerated. Waste from the isolation wards gets collected separately. All healthcare workers wear full PPE while handling this waste and take due precautions. All the efforts are taken to minimise the potential exposure at all steps of the waste collection cycle until the waste is incinerated,” said Dr Padbidri.
Chief of Nursing Services, Columbia Asia Hospital Pune, Sujith Kumar, said all COVID-19 disposals are made in double-layered bags to ensure there are no leaks. This is done as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines.
“We are following the CPCB guidelines for collecting and storing COVID-19 specific biomedical waste separately before it goes to Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF). Biomedical waste collected in COVID-19 isolation wards needs to be lifted directly from the ward into CBWTF collection van along with a separate record of such waste generated. It is vital that the guidelines are followed in letter and spirit to avoid any possible infection during the exposure,” said Kumar.
Sharing similar views, Dr Sandeep Nayar, Senior Consultant and HOD, Respiratory Medicine, Allergy and Sleep Disorders, BLK Super Speciality Hospital, said that in case one is wearing a mask/respirator only and not the whole PPE as a part of the normal non-COVID area, the person may dispose of them in a yellow bin as a routine practice.
“Main difference in disposing of COVID waste is that we dispose of them in a double-layered bag and we label them as COVID waste. Needles and other sharp material are also disposed of in a similar way as in other wards. They are put in a puncture-proof or safety box and disposed of,” said Dr Nayar.
WHO GUIDELINES
As per World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, clean utility gloves or heavy-duty, reusable plastic aprons with soap and water and then decontaminate them with 0.5 per cent sodium hypochlorite solution after each use.
“Single-use gloves (nitrile or latex) and gowns should be discarded after each use and should not be reused. Hand hygiene should be performed after PPE is removed. If the greywater includes disinfectant used in prior cleaning, it does not need to be chlorinated or treated again. However, such water must be disposed of in drains connected to a septic system or sewer or in a soakaway pit. If greywater is disposed of in a soakaway pit, the pit should be fenced off within the health facility grounds to prevent tampering and to avoid possible exposure in the case of overflow,” states the guidelines.
