TIRUCHY: With hospitals in the district having shut their outpatient departments (OPDs), generation of biomedical waste has greatly reduced. Biomedical waste from all hospitals, including Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH), is sent to Medicare Enviro Systems, a biomedical waste treatment facility in Thanjavur. The facility used to receive on an average 1,700 kg of biomedical waste from hospitals and labs in eight districts. After the lockdown, the number has come down to 600 to 700 kg per day, said Velmurugan, manager of Medicare.
The facility now receives about 50 kg of waste from corona wards separately. This waste is sent in separate double-layered bags. “We are getting corona waste from MGMGH, Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Sivagangai and Perambalur government hospitals. We will probably start getting more corona waste as other hospitals start treating patients. We disinfect the bags as soon as we receive them. We get about 20 kg from MGMGH,” said Velmurugan. The waste is immediately put into the incinerato.
Safety gear has been given to all employees as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines, said Velmurugan. “All employees have been given PPE kits. We disinfect our workstations regularly,” said Velmurugan.
For people working in the factory, the task is daunting and their families are worried.
“We keep changing our masks as the incinerator room is extremely hot. We were a bit scared in the beginning, but now we are not. Our families are worried but we explain the importance of our job to them. If the doctors and nurses start being afraid, what will happen? Similarly, waste cannot be kept in the hospital and we are responsible for its disposal,” said Kannan.