By Healthcare Facilities Today

A box of syringes found at a Monroeville, PA., landfill recently was traced to a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospital, days before the state Department of Environmental Protection was set to meet with hospital officials about previous cases of improper disposal of medical, according to an article on the Trib Live website.

“It's obvious that they're still having a little bit of a problem,” John Poister, a DEP spokesman, said in the article. “We're monitoring the landfill, and we'll continue that until we're satisfied no more stuff is going to turn up there.”

According to the article, UPMC has said it is “re-educating” staff on proper disposal.

DEP received a complaint in mid-December about medical waste in red bags turning up at the Monroeville facility. Eight to 10 truckloads from UPMC and Allegheny Health Network hospitals contained blood bags, surgical sponges and a substance thought to be human tissue, the article said.

State law says medical waste must be sanitized before going in a landfill, according to the article. Some hospitals process it on site. Others use an outside contractor charged with processing and disposing of the waste.

Read the article.