April 21, 2004, New Delhi India. Toxics Link’s new report "Incinerators in Delhi: State the Biggest Polluter" points out:

· Delhi had around 59 medical waste incinerators in 2000, but because of the complexities involved in meeting the emission standards most private hospitals decided to shut them down.
· Private hospitals have acknowledged the economic and environment ramifications of these machines, but government hospitals turn a blind eye to this menace.
· Most incinerators in Delhi do not have pollution control equipments. They either have a cyclone or venturi scrubber.
· Though the recent emission data of the DPCC survey has not been released, from their 2002 survey it remains evident that the existing incinerators in Delhi could not meet emission norms even with venturi scrubbers and thus continue to release a host of pollutants in the air.
· There is an attempt to push for open burning to manage millions of syringes generated during immunization programs in the country, in stark violation of the existing Rules and the guidelines.

The story in detail

In the backdrop of Earth Day on April 22, it is shocking to note that government hospitals continue to threaten the health of the city’s population by releasing carcinogens through the burning of medical waste.

Burning of waste of any kind causes the emission of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS) like dioxins and furans. Dioxin exposure is linked to a variety of health problems such as impairment of the nervous system, the endocrine system and the reproductive system. Medical Waste incineration, too, has been linked with the release of these deadly carcinogens.

The report further adds that the Central Pollution Control Board recently issued guidelines on Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facility and on the Design and Construction of Bio-Medical Waste Incinerators which discourage on-site incinerators by allowing new incinerators only in certain inevitable situations. The guidelines also limit the category of waste that requires incineration as the treatment option.

“But all this seems to be happening only on paper. In practice, hospitals have not been notified (through an amendment in the rules) about the limits of incineration and they continue to incinerate all categories of waste proposed in the rules. State Pollution Control Boards continue giving statements instigating hospitals to go in for on-site incineration and some state governments are also looking for installing unapproved technologies like Plasma Pyrolysis” says Ravi Agarwal of Toxics Link.

World wide, the incineration industry has proven itself to be phenomenally unpopular. Third World countries, such as India, are however, witnessing a spread of this ‘dirty’ technology. Environmental groups across the globe are resisting waste incineration, and are insisting that their governments put a stop to the deadly practice of burning waste.

In a record manifestation of global opposition to waste incineration, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), comprising of 400 groups and individuals from 67 countries releases its report Resources Up In Flames: The Economic Pitfall of Incineration versus a Zero Waste Approach in the Global South. The report describes a variety of programs that recover, reuse, recycle or compost discarded material. The report compiles various models of incineration alternatives and exemplifies the fact that incineration is just not an environmental but also an economic disaster.

Incineration is a dying technology, it has no place in a sustainable future, and governments must now ensure the development of safe alternatives to incineration.

Photographs available with this story: incineration of medical waste

For more information, contact:

Ratna Singh, Programme Officer, Srishti-Toxics Free Health Care, Toxics Link, H2 Jungpura Extension, New Delhi 110 014; T: +91-(0)11-24328006, 24320711; F: +91-(0)11-24321747; E: ratna@toxicslink.org; I: www.toxicslink.org

Toxics Link is an environmental NGO which focuses on toxics and waste issues. It is dedicated to the improvement of municipal, hazardous and medical waste management, among others. Utilising community outreach and education, policy analysis and initiatives, research, training and program development, we work at the state and central levels to create solutions for waste management, which are driven not by technology but by the needs of people. It is also involved in a wider range of environmental issues in Delhi and outside as part of a coalition of non-governmental organisations.