CHENNAI: Hospitals and other agencies such as pharmacies were issued a strict warning against illegal dumping of expired medicines and other biomedical waste on roads and near waterbodies, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) said in a letter to Central Pollution Control Board.
The letter, sent around two weeks ago, was based on repeated complaints raised by city-based activist Pugalventhan Venkatesan, who found biomedical waste off highways on the city’s outskirts. However, the letter cites only a December 9, 2020, complaint by Pugalventhan about waste at Meppur village near Chembarambakkam and ignores other instances of which he had informed TNPCB.
In the letter, TNPCB said it instructed the Director of Drugs Control in October 2019 to monitor drug dealers and medical shops with regard to disposal of expired medicines.
In December 2019, TNPCB wrote to the Muncipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department to instruct all local bodies to check unauthorised disposal of expired medicines and install CCTV cameras. A letter was issued to chairman of Indian Drug Manufacturer’s Association in March 2020 and a meeting was held with pharma manufacturers warning them of stern action. In July 2020, TNPCB instructed biomedical waste treatment facilities to properly dispose waste. All healthcare facilities were being monitored, TNPCB said.
However, Pugalventhan told TOI that despite such instructions, biomedical waste and expired medicines were still being illegally dumped and that TNPCB failed to take any action based on his evidence of recent incidents.