Medical waste found scattered along U.S. 522 in Berkeley Springs

March 14, 2008|By TRISH RUDDER

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Bloody gauze, needle tips and used finger sticks called lancets were among the hazardous medical waste materials found Thursday morning on properties along U.S. 522, the main road through town.

Lee Fowler, Morgan County Health Department administrator, said the incident is under investigation and might be an act of vandalism.

Fowler said a town resident came to the health department Thursday morning to report medical waste material was found in her yard, a neighbor's yard and another yard. The resident said she had noticed the debris on Wednesday, Fowler said.

Fowler, county nurse Angel Bloom and Bruce Ullom of the sanitation department investigated the area and found medical waste strewn in five yards on the west side of U.S. 522 between Union and Williams streets.

No empty trash bags were found, Fowler said.

Fowler said he called the Town of Bath Police Department and 911. Bath Police Officer Richard Haynes secured the area, and the Berkeley Springs Fire Department responded along with the Washington County Hazmat team.

"I was concerned about the health and welfare of the people," Fowler said.

Bloom and Ullom informed the residents not to touch the materials and keep their pets inside, Fowler said.

Assistant Fire Chief James A. Steiner said he and eight firemen assisted the hazmat team in gathering the hazardous materials, which were given to the health department. Steiner said they finished Thursday about 1:30 p.m.

Two partial hazardous waste bags and one container with about 20 sharp-edged instruments were collected, Fowler said.

Empty drug packages and several tubes to collect blood were found, Bloom said, and used vials of the antibiotic Rocephin and the pain medication Toradol were discovered.

Fowler said officials walked through the area and found medical paperwork, including a confidential report, notes from a doctor's office and four names and addresses that should have been shredded and disposed of with paper waste.

Bloom said medical waste should be disposed of through companies such as Biomedical Waste Service. She said the company picks up waste materials that are contained inside the health department during business hours.

Fliers were posted on about 25 houses in the area to alert residents about the incident. The flier asks residents to call the health department if they find something, Fowler said.

"This is part of our threat preparedness training. We followed the routine and protocol," he said. "There was 100 percent cooperation of all the people involved."

As part of the department's investigation, reports will be sent to the Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau of Public Health and the Division of Environmental Health, Fowler said.

"Somehow, this was handled improperly," Fowler said. "We will educate the medical community to make sure (the waste) is properly disposed."

|

|

|