EPA shuts down CHC’s incinerator

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the Commonwealth Health Center to halt operations of its medical waste incinerator.

According to an EPA news release yesterday, the CHC has violated the Federal Clean Air Act standards, necessitating the closure of the incinerator.

The public hospital has agreed to comply with the EPA order by ceasing operations of its medical waste incinerator by January 2006. CHC also agreed to put up an alternative medical waste treatment method in place.

U.S. EPA air division director for Pacific Southwest region Deborah Jordan said that medical waste incinerators must be operated in a way that protects the public health in the CNMI.

“Adoption of an alternative treatment program that complies with federal requirements will reduce the threat of exposure to toxic air pollutants,” she said.

The EPA required the health center to submit a compliance strategy addressing the progress of shutting down the incinerator by installing an onsite alternative waste treatment and analyzing the options for bringing all waste to a medical waste treatment and disposal facility.

The CHC must also provide the EPA a copy of its waste management plan that will include plans to separate solid waste from medical waste and identify other opportunities to minimize waste.

The health center must also complete the shutdown of the incinerator by Jan. 30, 2006, and certify the final removal and proper disposal of the incinerator by February next year.

EPA said the incinerator is used for destruction of medical waste as well as other solid waste such as medical records from the hospital and other clinics on the island.

The environmental agency inspected the local hospital in March and found that the incinerator had no air pollution control equipment. The inspectors found out the hospital had not tested its incinerator to determine whether it was emitting air pollutants above federal limits.

“Testing is required for air pollutants such as dioxins, furans, hydrogen chloride and mercury.”

The inspector also found out that the hospital failed to prepare a required plan to identify feasible ways to reduce the amount of waste burned and failed to comply with monitoring and record-keeping requirements. The EPA said this is required under federal regulations in order to monitor compliance with emission limits on air pollutants and to minimize and reduce the amount of toxic emissions from incinerated waste.

Medical waste could be a source of pollution from the pathological and biological waste, along with any chemicals produced during incineration of plastics and other medical waste materials.