Hazardous Waste Management System in India: An Overview

Lack treatment and disposal facilities causes hazardous wastes (HWs) to ravage municipal landfills and open spaces, raising serious environmental threats. Rapid industrialization over the last few decades has indiscriminately increased HW generation in India. In March 2000, the total HW generated was estimated to be 4.41 metric million tonnes (Babu and Ramkrishna, 2003 Babu, B. V. and Ramakrishna, V. 2003. Extended studies on mathematical modeling of site sensitivity indices in the site selection criteria for hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility. Journal of the Institution of Public Health Engineers India, : 11–17. http://bvbabu.50megs.com/custom.html/#43,2003 Also available as pdf file at [Google Scholar]). Adding to this woe are the substantial quantities of HWs being imported for recycling. Large quantities of HWs generated include used batteries, used and waste oil, broken fluorescent lamps, cleansing chemicals for wastes, pesticides past their expiration dates, and so forth. There are only a few well-established treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDF), which precludes effective enforcement of regulations for HW generated from the industrial or nonindustrial sector. The guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) are available for selection of the best sites for TSDF and for establishing secured landfills (MoEF Guidelines, 1989, as amended in 2003). Only Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh states have TSDFs, though not in sufficient numbers and sizes to cater to the entire quantity of HWs generated (Babu and Ramkrishna, 2003 Babu, B. V. and Ramakrishna, V. 2003. Extended studies on mathematical modeling of site sensitivity indices in the site selection criteria for hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility. Journal of the Institution of Public Health Engineers India, : 11–17. http://bvbabu.50megs.com/custom.html/#43,2003 Also available as pdf file at [Google Scholar]). This article focuses on the current status, problems and challenges, policy issues, and future strategies for improvement in HW management system in India.