Order to clean up 17 sea cans full of medical waste highlights Alberta's biomedical trash troubles
CBC
More than a year after Alberta environmental inspectors discovered 17 sea cans filled with unsterilized medical waste in west Edmonton, the company responsible is still working to clean up the mess.
Edmonton-based GFM Environmental Services is facing an enforcement order under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act for improper disposal and storage of biomedical and hazardous waste.
After a first failed inspection in March of 2022, and a series of extensions to comply, the company now has until Dec. 1 to dispose of it.
Company owner James Humen said the waste — stored in shipping containers, also known as sea cans — is from tattoo parlours, veterinary offices, and dental and medical clinics.
The waste includes old fillings, soiled bandages and used needles that were waiting to be cleaned in GFM's large autoclave, a machine used to sterilize contaminated items with high-pressure steam.
Humen said he's had a hard time complying with the order due to a recent shutdown of a government-run incinerator at Swan Hills, Alta., 220 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
Of the 17 sea cans discovered by inspectors, eight remain full. The rest of the trash has been safely disposed of, Humen said.
"This is not festering stuff," he said. "We're not dealing with anything that is knowingly infectious; nothing anatomical. We have no dealings with hospitals, so it's really this low-level, low-grade material."
The order highlights challenges Alberta faces in disposing of a mountain of medical waste generated in the province each year.
Humen's company is a small player in an industry involved in cleaning up the mess of soiled materials. The system is facing an uncertain future due to the coming closure of the troubled Swan Hills plant. The facility, which incinerates the bulk of Alberta's medical waste, has been offline due to delayed maintenance since the end of March.
The plant, long plagued by environmental concerns, is set to close permanently in 2025. The province has yet to decide how it will dispose of its medical waste after the incinerator closes. Alberta Health Services continues to search for a contractor capable of the job.
The investigation at GFM Environmental started with a public complaint. One sea can was discovered in a back alley at the company's shop in west Edmonton. The others were found in a nearby industrial neighbourhood, in shipping containers leased from a private self-storage company.
The inspection uncovered a series of infractions. The waste was not properly labelled or contained. There no signs to warn people of what was being stored inside, and no staff on site qualified to handle the waste.
An order issued by Alberta Environment also notes that medical records were found. Humen said a garbage bag of dental records, mixed in with files from a veterinary clinic, was shredded after being discovered.
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