Shadman residents being exposed to massive nuclear radiation from hospital wastes

[Naveed Yaseen]

* Hospitals at Shadman have been established without any approval from the EPA
* Hospitals dispose of radioactive waste in colony’s drains

By Abdul Manan

LAHORE: The Shadman Colony residential area has been exposed to high doses radiation because of the extensive use of X-rays and radiotherapy machines at several hospitals located in it.

An official of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) Environment Department said that the Shadman residential area had been rapidly converted into a hub of several hospitals, adding that dozens of hospitals had been established without getting prior approval from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). He said that these hospitals have X-ray machines and other radioactive materials, adding that they tend to dispose of radioactive waste, without any prior treatment, in the colony’s drains.

Waste: Hospital employees, seeking anonymity, said that they have been working at these hospitals without complying with the global standards. They said that none of the hospitals had any lead sheet rooms, which are required for all radioactive activities, adding that none of the machine operators had been provided with a Geiger counter (a machine that informs the operator of the radiation limits). They said that they had been working in such circumstances because they had no other option, adding that the radioactive waste is disposed off in the colony’s drains.

Shadman residents said that the colony’s water supply pipelines pass through the sewerage system, adding that most of the pipes are rusted. They said that this allows radioactive particles to mix with the water supply pipelines, adding that the radioactive materials have made life in Shadman a nuisance.

Dr Imtiaz said that all ionising radiation, including that of Cobalt 60, was known to cause cancer, adding that frequent exposure to gamma radiation from Cobalt 60 increased the risk of cancer. However, he said that the magnitude of the health risk depended on the quantity of Cobalt 60 involved and on exposure conditions, adding that radiation, once released into the environment, could remain in the atmosphere for decades, increasing the likelihood of human exposure.

A CDGL official said that the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) did not have the authority to ask such hospitals for a no-objection certificate (NOC), adding that hospitals have been exempted from obtaining NOCs from the LDA. He, however, said that the EPA and the Health Department could take action against such hospitals.

An EPA spokesman confirmed that none of the hospitals in the Shadman Colony had gotten any environmental approval from the EPA. He said that the EPA would take action against such hospitals soon, adding that it would force them to comply with the Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005. A Health Department official said that whenever the Health Department raided such hospitals, they showed that they were only sample collecting centres. He added that a comprehensive campaign would be launched against them soon.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...008_pg13_8