Bio-Medical Waste-Related Threat to the Urban Sanitation Workers of India
Lipi Ghosh
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, Maharashtra (400 088), India
DOI: NIL
Keywords: Bio-medical waste, COVID-19, Urban sanitation workers, Waste Management Rules
Abstract
Today, many retired sanitation workers are reminded of the 1994 plague, when workers were assigned without much protection. Nothing much has changed since. Even novel coronavirus also discerned sanitation workers are untouchable. So, there is no government record of death among sanitation workers due to COVID-19. Every day like doctors and nurse’s sanitation workers are also struggling to protect the nation and performing in a similar feat. The only difference is that the sanitation workers have always been socially distanced from the rest of society and stigmatized as untouchable.
This paper summarises bio-medical waste-related threat to sanitation workers and waste pickers during the collection of waste. Face masks used by the quarantine patients and general public could be the sources of infection for the sanitation workers. Critically discussed the Bio-medical Waste Management Rules 2016 and its amendments to the collection generated from COVID-19 patients and health-care staff.
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Reference
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