THE BILL FOR HOSPITAL WASTE

On Nov. 2, President Reagan signed legislation designed to control infectious medical waste. The bill ensures that people who generate, handle or dispose of medical waste are accountable. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a system for tracking such wastes from production to disposal. The following chart details how much infectious waste county hospitals generate, how they store it before it is disposed of, who disposes of it and how much that costs.

The following hospitals refused to provide any information about wastes:

Brea Community; Buena Park Community; Doctors Hospital of Santa Ana; Healthcare Medical Center of Tustin; La Habra Community; Mission Community; Pacifica Community; Placentia-Linda Community; San Clemente General; Santa Ana Hospital and Medical Center; St. Jude-Fullerton; St. Jude-Yorba Linda.

Hospital: Anaheim General Monthly Waste: 1,200 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Sealed plastic containers Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: 50 cents/lb. Hospital: Anaheim Memorial Monthly Waste: 41,000 lbs Storage/Disposal Method: Autoclave sterilization Disposal Company: W.D. Bingham Co. Disposal Costs: N/A Hospital: Buena Park Doctors Monthly Waste: 2,800 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Sealed plastic containers Disposal Company: BFI Disposal Costs: $878/month Hospital: Chapman General Monthly Waste: 10,000-15,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Plastic-bagged Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: $500-$600/month Hospital: Children’s Hospital ofOrange County Monthly Waste: 16,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Plastic containers Disposal Company: W.D. Bingham Co. Disposal Costs: 19 1/2 cents/lb. Hospital: Coastal Communities Monthly Waste: N/A Storage/Disposal Method: Plastic-bagged/locked storage Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: $2,500/month flat fee Hospital: Costa Mesa Medical Center Monthly Waste: 1,500 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Plastic containers Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: $250/month Hospital: Fountain Valley Regional Monthly Waste: * Storage/Disposal Method: Sterilized and compacted in plastic bags Disposal Company: Rainbow Disposal Disposal Costs: 25 cents/lb. Hospital: Hoag Monthly Waste: 67,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Bagged, stored in plastic containers Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: 12 cents/lb. Hospital: Humana-Huntington Beach Monthly Waste: 3,600 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Sealed plastic bags Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: 12 cents/lb. Hospital: Humana-West Anaheim Monthly Waste: 8,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Plastic-bagged Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: 12 cents/lb. Hospital: Humana-Westminster Monthly Waste: 4,300 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Doubled plastic-bagged Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: $515/month Hospital: La Palma Intercommunity Monthly Waste: 13,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Red double-bagged and locked storage Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: $1,900/month Hospital: Los Alamitos Medical Center Monthly Waste: * Storage/Disposal Method: Locked bins Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: * Hospital: Martin Luther Medical Center Monthly Waste: 12,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Autoclaved and bagged Disposal Company: Anaheim Disposal Co. Disposal Costs: $230/ton Hospital: Midwood Community Monthly Waste: 5,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Plastic-bagged and stored Disposal Company: BFI Disposal Costs: $1,400/month Hospital: Saddleback Community Monthly Waste: 42,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Plastic-bagged and stored Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: $5,500/month Hospital: South Coast Medical Center Monthly Waste: 72,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Autoclaved, compacted and double-bagged Disposal Company: BFI Disposal Costs: 20 cents /lb. Hospital: St. Joseph Monthly Waste: Varies Storage/Disposal Method: Autoclaved and compacted Disposal Company: SES Disposal Costs: * Hospital: UCI Monthly Waste: 58,000 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Plastic-bagged Disposal Company: TCI Disposal Costs: $7,250/month Hospital: Western Medical Center-Anahaim Monthly Waste: 11,500 lbs. Storage/Disposal Method: Double plastic-bagged and stored Disposal Company: TCI Disposal Costs: 13 1/2 cents/lb.

Notes: N/A-not available.

Abbreviations: SES-Security Environmental Systems; BFI-Browning, Ferris Industries; TCI-Thermal Combustion Incinerator, Inc.

* Information refused

Source: Individual hospitals