Report by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board regarding illegal dumping of hospital general waste mixed with bio medical waste near Pallavaram lake Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 11/12/2024
Report by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) in OA No 274 of 2024(SZ)(Suo Motu Vs The Chief Secretary to Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Chennai and Ors) dated 11/12/2024.
The Chennai edition of Dinamalar, September 25, 2024 published an article titled "Dumping of 05 tons of medical waste in Pallavaram Eri". TNPCB had received a complaint from the Tambaram Municipal Corporation - Zone II, Chennai regarding the illegal disposal/dumping of hospital general waste mixed with bio medical waste along the Pallavaram radial road adjacent to Pallavaram lake (Periya Eri) on September 24, 2024.
Based on the complaint, the complaint site was inspected by the officials of the DEE, Maraimalai Nagar. The inspection revealed huge quantity of hospital general waste mixed with bio medical waste were dumped in three different places - Along the Pallavaram radial road adjacent to Pallavaram lake; inside the Pallavaram lake and along the Pallavaram radial road opposite to Saravana Selvarathinam commercial building.
The common biomedical waste disposal facility of M/s G J Multiclave Pvt Ltd, Thenmelpakkam village, Chengalpattu taluk, Chengalpattu district was instructed to remove all the bio medical waste mixed with the hospital general waste from the site and to dispose the same to their bio medical waste treatment facility for processing.
In the complaint site hospital records, hospital prescription sheets, letterhead, bio medical waste, hospital domestic waste and other details of the following hospitals were found in the illegally dumped waste. G J Multiclave has collected 700 kgs of bio medical waste from the illegally dumped hospital general waste mixed with the bio medical waste.
It was ascertained that earlier due to improper handling and non-segregation of bio medical waste and solid waste by the unit authorities, the bio medical waste would have got mixed up with the general solid waste and disposed to the general solid waste vendor M/s Ashok Waste Paper Mart.
The solid waste vendor had vacated his rented solid waste storage yard without clearing the waste dumped for years together and the present owner of the premises has cleared wht general solid waste storage yard with unauthorized vendor which has resulted in the dumping of general solid waste mixed biomedical waste in the public place (along the Pallavaram radial road adjacent to Pallavaram Periya Eri) of about 200 kgs and 500 kgs of bio medical waste from the said dumping area pertaining to the health care facilities of M/s MIOT Hospitals Private Limited and M/s Gem Hospital and Research Centre.