Experts call on Guwahati to phase out mercury-based thermometers, BP sets

Guwahati, Aug 27: In a powerful call to action, public health experts, government officials, civil society organizations and environmental advocates have stressed the urgent need to completely stop the use of mercury-containing devices - such as thermometers and sphygmomanometers in India.

The appeal was made at a workshop organized by Consumer VOICE, New Delhi and Consumers' Legal Protection Forum, Assam, in association with NERIM Group of Institutes, Guwahati at the NERIM Auditorium to discuss the health hazard of mercury exposure at home, especially among children and women, and India's commitment to the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Highlighting the importance of biomedical waste management, Dr Gautam. Krishna Mishra, Member Secretary, Assam Pollution Control Board said, "It is vital that all healthcare facilities in India follow strict mercury spill management protocols, invest in training, and shift to safer, mercury-free alternatives. Responsible handling today will protect future generations from irreversible harm."

In her speech, Dr Mousumi Krishnatreya, Professor & HOD, Department of Community Medicine, Nagaon Medical College, stressed the need for phasing out of mercury products due to the metal's toxicity and its detrimental effects on human health and the environment. Broken mercury products should be handled and disposed of with extreme care to minimize the potential health and environmental hazards of mercury.

A study in 2011 estimated that eight tonnes of mercury were being released annually from medical measuring devices in India (with nearly 69% attributed to the mismanagement disposal of blood-pressure-measuring devices (sphygmomanometers) and the rest from mercury thermometers).

Exposure of pregnant women, lactating women, women in childbearing age to mercury can harm the next generation. Eliminating mercury-containing medical devices and switching to non-mercury (digital and aneroid equipment) is saving lives while protecting the environment," said Dr Mrinal Haloi, Associate Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Gauhati Medical College & Hospital and secretary, National Medicos Organization, Assam.

Speaking at the workshop, Prof (Dr) Sangeeta Tripathi, director, NERIM Group of Institutions appealed to the student community to make the earth mercury free. Consumer awareness and knowledge on safe disposal of mercury products is critical.

"This initiative of spreading consumer awareness is significant, not just for protecting the well-being of our family, but because it reduces the impact of healthcare on our shared environment," advocate Ajoy Hazarika, secretary, Consumers' Legal Protection Forum, Assam, said.

"The healthcare sector is going mercury-free and has found digital products to be ac-curate and affordable. It's time that the common man also adopt-ed these mercury-free devices," Nilanjana Bose from Consumer VOICE, a Delhi-based consumer organization working on consumer rights and safety for several decades, said.