If medical waste isn’t disposed of properly, your company could receive a hefty fine, even if the improper disposal was unknown to you or because the company transporting and/or processing the waste did not do their job properly. Thus, it is important to choose a medical waste disposal company who understands the effects of medical waste on human health and always disposes of it properly.
Causes of Medical Waste
Most medical facilities dispose of medical waste properly, but some may have not properly trained their employees. Especially smaller clinics and offices, may not want to incur the cost of proper disposal. However, the fines are hefty. Some problems in hospital waste management include using the wrong containers, incorrect transportation, handling the containers incorrectly, improper segregation, poor or no training for employees, dumping hazardous waste into the regular sewer instead of the specifically designated sewer or septic, organizations not conducting inspections, incorrect signage, poor or no employee training, transporting large amounts of waste and emergency plans that are incorrect.
Medical waste is also created by non-healthcare facilities, and this waste usually ends up in the general landfills. This may include retail establishments where someone gets cut, home care nurses, individuals who use sharps daily to control diabetes and more. If a non-healthcare facility does have a container for sharps and broken glass, that container often ends up in the regular trash. Although the medical waste is contained, it is not properly disposed of.
Effects of Dumping Medical Waste
A large hospital easily produces up to a ton of medical waste every day, including sharps. Items contaminated with body fluids, food wrappers and utensils and other ordinary garbage. Illegally dumping medical waste puts many people at risk for disease. These diseases are caused by coming into contact with sharps and other contaminated medical waste pollution.
In fact, of the diseases caused by medical waste, the World Health Organization estimates that 12 percent of the HIV cases and 40 percent of the hepatitis cases throughout the world are caused by improper disposal of medical waste – an occupational hazard.
Medical waste that is burned with regular trash in incinerators or burned in the open poses a hazard as the smoke creates mercury. Dioxins and other toxic substances that go into the air we breathe. Medical waste thrown in the regular trash ends up in landfills where scavengers may be exposed to diseases caused by medical waste.
Fines for Improper Disposal of Medical Waste
When a facility disposes of medical waste improperly and is caught, the fines are high enough to put a small practice out of business. For just one labeling error, the fine could be over $70,000 per day. A Pennsylvania dentist was fined $100,000 because he dumped bags of medical waste off his boat. That waste washed up on the east coast.
Even practices that had no idea of wrongdoing have been fined. In some cases, if a medical waste disposal company doesn’t properly dispose of medical waste the facility is fined. Even if the facility doesn’t know about the improper disposal. Thus is it important that a facility retain the services of a reputable medical waste disposal company.
Reputable medical waste disposal companies follow federal, state and local rules when storing, transporting, destroying and disposing of medical waste. Avoid fines for illegal transportation and disposal that you may have not even known about. Retain the services of a company that provides the proper method of transportation and disposal.
Contact MedWaste Services
Contact MedWaste Services, a veteran-run medical waste disposal company, if you need a new medical waste disposal company or if you are a new practice just starting out.