Hospitals in the State will be asked to phase out use of chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) bags, gloves and blood bags in two years following a recent notification of the Bio Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, said sources in the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
“Manufacturers of gloves and plastic bags too will be asked to follow this. We are already in touch with glove manufacturers. The reason for phasing out such plastics is that if they are incinerated at lower temperatures, there is a chance that dioxins, which are carcinogenic in nature, might be released,” explained the source.
The new rules specify that within two years of their notification such bags should be phased out.
Even plastic bags used for storing and transporting bio-medical waste are not to contain any CPVC.
Operators of common bio-medical waste treatment facilities have been asked not to dispose of such plastics by incineration, the official said.
The TNPCB has asked the Central Pollution Control Board for an alternative to CPVC, he added.
Solid waste management expert M.P. Rajasekaran said the rules were focussing on individual hospitals as they are responsible for the waste they generate.
CPVC has properties similar to PVC. It is fire resistant. But its disposal has environmental impacts, he explained.
G. Sankaran, president, Tamil Nadu, Pondy Plastic Manufacturers and Merchants Association, said that there were not many chlorinated manufacturers of plastic in the State. “We get most of our CPVC from Gujarat and other States. If PVC cannot be chlorinated, then an alternative should be provided. If it is incinerated safely, there will not be any issue,” he said.
“Incineration of chlorinated polyvinyl chloride has negative environmental consequences”
