MEDICAL WASTE HARD TO TRACE; SANTA PAULA SEES FOUR RECENT DUMPING INCIDENTS.

Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer

Illegal dumping of medical waste in Ventura County is a problem almost as rare as the proverbial needle in a hay stack.

Incidents are so rare that Hazel McCord, a medical waste specialist with the Ventura County Environmental Health Department, has a hard time recalling even a few documented cases.

``We just haven't had any cases in a long time,'' said McCord. ``If it's happening, I'm not being made aware of it.''

Likewise, Deputy District Attorney Mitch Disney said within the past four years, he's seen only one case: a man who last November dumped 50 pounds of expired veterinary pharmaceuticals in a Westlake Village trash bin.

But things may be changing.

Police in Santa Paula say dumping of medical waste in that community has become an ongoing problem.

In the past several weeks, Santa Paula police discovered four incidents of illegally dumped medical waste.

Two weeks ago, a boy was stuck by a needle after he and a friend found a box containing 1,000 new and used syringes in an old tractor tire in the Santa Clara riverbed. The youngster was later given a clean bill of health.

``We've had a number of incidents,'' said Santa Paula Police Cmdr. Bob Gonzalez. ``It appears that the people who are doing this are aware that they could get in trouble for this.''

Detectives think they have traced the origin of at least some of the medical waste, but are unsure who dumped it.

Investigating dumping cases is difficult because there is usually nothing to indicate where it came from. So officials keep tabs on doctor's offices, clinics and other commercial generators of medical waste.

Although she regularly gets complaints about rubber gloves thrown in the trash, something which is legal, McCord said she doesn't believe there is much illegal dumping by commercial generators of medical waste.

``We inspect all medical waste generators, so we do check their tracking documents to make sure that they are disposing of it properly,'' McCord said. ``I think that's part of (the success) in that they know they're being monitored, therefore they do comply.''

A doctor or lab technician who dumps syringes or lancets in the trash could be arrested for illegal dumping. But an individual who uses the same items for his own medical treatment can legally toss them into the trash. For investigators, it's sometimes impossible to distinguish between the two.

``It is difficult to trace where it comes from,'' McCord said. ``If a sharps container is found in a Dumpster, for instance, there is no way of knowing if it came from a medical facility or a household. So we can't take any kind of action against the generator if we don't know for sure that that it's his.''

Last year, the Ventura County Solid Waste Management Department set up 17 locations around the county to collect hypodermic needles, syringes and lancets used by individuals at home. Residents can pick up free disposal containers at the sites, all at clinics and other medical facilities.

For information on the collection sites, call (800) CLEANUP or the County Solid Waste Management Department at [phone].

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Photo

PHOTO Trash lies along the Santa Clara River near Santa Paula, where illegally dumped medical waste has recently been found.

Tina Gerson/Daily News