Environmental Forensic Investigation Of Improper Medical Waste Disposal: Source Attribution, Environmental Damage Assessment And Its Role In Establishing Legal Accountability In India
Kaviya R, LLM, Department of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Administration, School of Excellence in Law, The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
ABSTRACT:
Improper disposal of medical wastes poses a considerable danger to environmental quality because the healthcare wastes may be laden with infectious material, drugs, chemicals, and other types of hazardous material. If the wastes are not properly segregated, transported, treated and disposed of, the contaminants end up in soil, water, and air. This paper attempts to look at how the environmental forensic investigation methodology applies to improper medical waste disposal in India, concentrating particularly on source attribution and environmental damage assessment. Some of the investigative methods considered in the paper include site examination, sampling, analysis of physical evidence, chemical and biological analysis, spatial assessment, as well as source-pathway-receptor analysis. The paper further looks into how scientific findings from the environmental forensics can help in proper implementation of regulations, and attribution of blame, especially as per the environmental and biomedical waste laws of India.
Keywords: Environmental Forensics, Medical Waste, Source Attribution, Environmental Damage, Legal Accountability, India.
