Table EIR 8. Hazardous waste incident, improper disposal of infectious wastes, 

 Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties (Teaf 1980). 



Personal damage: None . 



Environmental damage: None suspected. 



Economic damage: Not calculated. Includes costs to Hillsborough County 

 for investigation and Infectious Waste Survey, as well as costs to hospitals 

 for construction or improvement of private incinerators. 



Cause of problem: The Tampa City incinerator closed on 31 December 1979. 

 Since that date, some incineration has been taking place at a small "patho- 

 logical incinerator" which is only open at limited times and is inadequate 

 to handle all of the incoming loads from hospitals and clinics in the Tampa- 

 St . Petersburg area. Some land disposal is taking place as a result of 

 incinerator inadequacy. 



Type and quantity of hazardous waste: An unknown quantity of "red bags" 

 from area hospitals, veterinary clinics and other medical facilities. These 

 "red bags" contained soiled bandages, hypodermic needles, blood samples, 

 and other infectious materials. A survey was initiated by the Hills- 

 borough Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) in May 1980 to collect 

 information on the amount of such materials needing proper disposal. 



Date of incident: February 1980 to present. 



Location: Hillsborough County and Pinellas County landfills. 



Remedial action: Officials from the Hillsborough County EPC have contacted 

 area hospitals and clinics to advise the facilities of proper disposal 

 procedures for infectious wastes. Similar notifications and visits have 

 been made by the St. Petersburg Department of Environmental Sanitation. 

 Sterilization (autocl aving) prior to disposal is considered acceptable in 

 some cases, but incineration is preferred. Some area hospitals currently 

 have incinerators at their facilities which are capable of burning these 

 wastes . 



Narrative: Since closure of the Tampa City incinerator in December 1979, 

 there has been no adequate facility for incineration of infectious hospital 

 wastes in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. Although a small "patho- 

 logical incinerator" is maintained, this is not adequate to cope with 

 the large volumes of potentially dangerous wastes delivered to it. 



EPC officials from Hillsborough County contacted area hospitals, veterinary 

 clinics and other facilities which generate such wastes in order to deter- 

 mine existing disposal procedures. Although some larger hospitals have 

 private incinerators, the majority of "red bags" are merely placed in 



Continued 



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