Medical waste from 12 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) hospitals was mixed with municipal waste and dumped illegally, according to an article on the Post-Gazette website.
Nearby residents spotted red bags of untreated medical waste being dumped illegally at Waste Management’s Monroeville landfill.
The fact that the medical waste, including bloody dressings, body fluids and needles, wasn’t shrink-wrapped inside those red bags meant the bags hadn’t undergone autoclave sterilization.
Based on that same investigation, DEP fined Allegheny Health Network $86,900 in July for similar violations of the state Solid Waste Management Act involving medical waste from its West Penn and Forbes Regional hospitals.
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