TAXILA: Hospitals in Taxila are disposing of waste in public spaces, drains and various commercial and residential areas in Taxila, posing a risk to the health of residents as well as to the environment while the authorities look the other way.

Hospitals, maternity homes, private clinics and dental practices are throwing away medical waste including disposable syringes, bags for intra-venous fluids and other items used during treatment in the open. The waste can also be seen dumped along the sides of roads including GT Road, Faisal Shaheed Road, HMC Road and Railway Road.

The waste is either picked up by recyclers or by children looking for something to play with.

President of a local NGO, Munaza Peerzada said that the waste is not disposed of properly is putting resident’s health at risk. She said sharp instruments in the waste, including syringes and needles, can lead to the spread of diseases including Hepatitis B and C as well as HIV and AIDS.

Improper disposal poses health risk for locals, may lead to spread of communicable diseases

She said properly disposing of medical waste is all the more important because of the increasing quantity of such waste as well as because of the spread of communicable diseases.

None of the clinics and hospitals in the city and rural areas have proper arrangements for properly dumping medical waste. Used syringes are also resold at some of the stores. So far, not a single owner of a private hospital or an officer of concerned state-run health institutions has been penalised for negligence when dumping waste.

Asim Meer, who heads another NGO, said that according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), hospital waste is to be sorted into different categories which are no risk waste, sharps, hazardous waste- biological waste, plastic bags and containers- and specific hazardous waste including pharmaceutical waste or heavy metals. These are to be dumped in colour coded bags.

He said 80pc of Hepatitis B cases are caused by the improper disposal of hospital waste.

A junkyard owner, Hazrat Gul said the hospital waste is collected by people looking to sell it on and that because they are good quality, waste from hospitals usually sell for better rates.

Another junkyard owner said that a local manufacturing unit in Mazzar Colony is one of the largest purchaser of syringes and empty IV bags from which toys and eating utensils are manufactured.

When asked Tehsil Municipal Officer Qammar Zeeshan said the municipal administration is responsible for collecting general waste and that the health department was responsible for collecting medical waste. He said the health department was to ensure the implementation of Hospital Waste Management Rules 2005 and the disposal of the waste according to the said rules.

The Deputy District Officer Health Dr Sarfaraz Khan, on the other hand, said private clinics and hospitals were responsible for the proper disposal of their waste.

Drugs Inspector Malik Arshad said that because of a lack of proper legislation, government departments do not take strict action against offenders who put the health and lives of people and the environment at risk. He added that local hospitals will be warned of action if they did not properly dispose of their waste.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2016