NEW DELHI: Amid reports of the continuing import of banned chlorinated gloves, used by healthcare professionals, the environment ministry has written to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) seeking the compliance status of the rules that prohibited use of these unsafe gloves.
The matter was brought into the notice of the ministry by the Indian Rubber Gloves Manufacturers Association (IRGMA), flagging that the import of chlorinated gloves continues due to lower cost and lack of awareness regarding the safety aspect of its use even as the prescribed phase-out date for such gloves in the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016 expired long ago.
Referring to the points raised by the Association, the ministry on Aug 14 asked the DCGI and BIS to examine the matter and get back to it with their comments. Many countries in Europe and the US too had banned the use of chlorinated gloves and switched over to safe non-chlorinated ones.
The ministry had first banned their use under the 2016 Rules and gave two years of time to manufacturers/importers to phase out chlorinated plastic bags, gloves and blood bags, keeping in view the health and environmental hazards they may cause. The Rules were later amended and the phase out period was extended till March 27, 2019.
Nevertheless, the import continued and it prompted the IRGMA to flag the matter to the ministry seeking strict compliance of the existing rules. The Association wrote to the environment minister Bhupender Yadav and shared the complete import data last month, flagging the import of banned chlorinated gloves from Malaysia and Thailand.
The Association representatives argued that since many BIS-certified companies in the country have already been manufacturing enough non-chlorinated gloves to meet domestic requirements, there was no reason in allowing such import beyond the phase-out date.
The matter was brought into the notice of the ministry by the Indian Rubber Gloves Manufacturers Association (IRGMA), flagging that the import of chlorinated gloves continues due to lower cost and lack of awareness regarding the safety aspect of its use even as the prescribed phase-out date for such gloves in the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016 expired long ago.
Referring to the points raised by the Association, the ministry on Aug 14 asked the DCGI and BIS to examine the matter and get back to it with their comments. Many countries in Europe and the US too had banned the use of chlorinated gloves and switched over to safe non-chlorinated ones.
The ministry had first banned their use under the 2016 Rules and gave two years of time to manufacturers/importers to phase out chlorinated plastic bags, gloves and blood bags, keeping in view the health and environmental hazards they may cause. The Rules were later amended and the phase out period was extended till March 27, 2019.
Nevertheless, the import continued and it prompted the IRGMA to flag the matter to the ministry seeking strict compliance of the existing rules. The Association wrote to the environment minister Bhupender Yadav and shared the complete import data last month, flagging the import of banned chlorinated gloves from Malaysia and Thailand.
The Association representatives argued that since many BIS-certified companies in the country have already been manufacturing enough non-chlorinated gloves to meet domestic requirements, there was no reason in allowing such import beyond the phase-out date.
