Biomedical waste

Definition
Anything tested or used on an individual, or any trash from
biological experiments

Generated from
Waste generated by health care facility
Research facility
Laboratories

Types of biomedical waste
Tissues, organs, body parts
Generated during
research/experimentation,
from veterinary hospitals
Laboratory cultures,
micro-organisms, human
and animal cell cultures,
toxins
Hypodermic needles,
syringes, scalpels,
broken glass
Generated from any of the
infected areas

Human anatomical waste
Animal waste


Microbiology and
biotechnology waste

Waste sharps


Liquid waste






Types of biomedical waste
Soiled waste

Chemical waste

Discarded medicines and
cyto-toxic drugs

Radioactive Components

Incineration ash
Dressing, bandages, plaster casts,
material contaminated with blood
Alcohol, Sulphuric acid, chlorine
powder, Glutaraldehyde, Picric
acid, fertiliser, ammonia

Barium enema, X-rays, Cancer
chemotherapy, tar-based products

EtBr, Radioactive components

Hazards from biomedical waste
Infectious disease

Hazard from chemical wastes

Hazard from radioactive wastes
TYPE OF WASTE
TREATMENT AND
DISPOSAL
OPTION
Human Anatomical Waste
Incineration/ deep
burial
Animal Waste

Incineration/ deep
burial
Microbiology & Biotechnology Waste
Local autoclaving/
microwaving /
incineration
Treatment and Disposal
Waste Sharps
Disinfecting / autoclaving/
shredding
Discarded Medicine and Cyto-toxic drugs
Incineration/ destruction
and drugs disposal in
secured landfills
Soiled Waste Incineration/ autoclaving
Solid Waste
Disinfecting by chemical
treatment / autoclaving/
shredding
Liquid Waste
Disinfecting by chemical
treatment and discharge into
drains
Incineration Ash Disposal in landfill
Chemical Waste
Chemical treatment and
discharge into drains for
liquids and secured landfill for
solids.
District
No of Health
Care Institutions
Number
ofbeds

TotalWaste
kg/day

Alappuzha 343 8835 11486
Ernakulam 546 15819 20565
Idukki 194 4096 5325
Kannur 392 5149 6694
Kasaragod 209 2107 2739
Kollam 704 7530 9789
Kottayam 440 9323 121209
Kozhikode 342 9034 11744
Malappuram 327 5030 6539
Palakkad 316 4925 6403
Pathanamthitta 310 5096 6625
Thiruvananthapur
am
411 12910 16783
Thrissur 434 12991 16888
Wayanad 127 2307 2999
Total 5095 105152 136699
District wise details of health care institutions, beds and waste generation

IMAGE IMA Goes Eco-friendly
Initiated in 2000 to assist Government and Private Hospitals in
Kerala

Central Waste Management Plants located in Palakkad

60% of the hospitals are affiliated to IMAGE
NUCLEAR WASTE
TYPES OF NUCLEAR WASTE
Low level waste 20-30 years

High level waste <1000 years
EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WASTE
Health risk
1. Somatic effects (effect is primarily suffered by
the individual exposed example: cancer)

2. GENETICS EFFECTS (effect is suffered by
the offspring of the individual exposed)



Disposal methods
Geological Dumping
Geological disposal means disposal of nuclear waste
under continental crust or under seabed

It provides natural isolation system that is stable over
thousands of years to contain long lived radioactive
waste


TRANSMUTATION OF HIGH
LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Transmutation devices consisting of nuclear reactor
and an accelarator of charged particles are used to
destroy radioactivity by neutrons
The fission fragments can be transmuted by neutron
capture and beta decay to produce stable nucleus