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This article reviews the impact of biomedical waste on water, soil, air quality, the environment, and human health. Hospitals and nursing homes generate increasing amount of biomedical waste in an unscientific manner. As such, poor waste management practices by these institutions cause exposure to health hazards and actual environmental problems. The issue of biomedical waste identification, handling, and disposal needs to have a heightened review so that better management practices and protocols can be established.

The textile industry is one of the important industries that generates a large amount of industrial effluents. Color is the main attraction of any fabric. Manufacture and use of synthetic dyes for fabric dyeing has therefore become a massive industry. Synthetic dyes have provided a wide range of colorfast, bright hues. However, their toxic nature has become a cause of grave concern to environmentalists. Use of synthetic dyes has an adverse effect on all forms of life. Presence of sulphur, naphthol, vat dyes, nitrates, acetic acid, soaps, enzymes chromium compounds, and heavy metals like copper, arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, nickel, and cobalt and certain auxiliary chemicals all collectively make the textile effluent highly toxic. These organic materials react with many disinfectants, especially chlorine, and form byproducts (DBPs) that are often carcinogenic and therefore undesirable. This effluent, if allowed to flow in the fields, clogs the pores of the soil resulting in loss of soil productivity. This chapter gives an overview on the health and environmental impact of dyes.

Plastics have become a vital asset for humanity. Plastics are known as synthetic materials produced from synthetic or semi-synthetic organic polymers derived from petro-based chemicals, able to displace traditional natural polymeric materials (wood, stone, ceramics, etc.). Plastics have malformed everyday life; usage is increasing, and annual production is likely to exceed 300 million tons by 2010. In this chapter, the authors blend current understanding of the benefits and concerns surrounding the use of plastics and look to future priorities, challenges, and opportunities. Plastics case serious environmental pollution such as soil pollution, water pollution, and air pollution. Application of proper rules and regulations for the production and use of plastics can reduce the toxic effects of plastics on human health and the environment.

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Plastic pollution in the environment is currently receiving worldwide attention. Improper dumping of disused or abandoned plastic wastes leads to contamination of the environment. Contamination by bulk plastics and plastic debris is currently the one of the most serious problems in aquatic ecosystems. In particular, small-scale plastic debris such as microplastics and nanoplastics has become a leading contributor to the pollution of marine and freshwater ecosystems. Over 300 million tons of plastic is produced annually, and around 75% of all marine litter is plastic. Plastic litter is widespread in aquatic ecosystems and comes from a variety of sources. The abundance of plastics, combined with their small size and subsequent association with plankton in the water column, allows for direct ingestion by aquatic biota at different trophic levels.

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The workers engaged in the cricket bat industry of Kashmir are exposed to high noise levels. It is suggested that personal protective equipment like ear plugs and ear muffs be used by these workers as a protection against this hazard.