State Investigating Violations Related to Medical Waste
The Hawaii Department of Health is conducting an investigation involving medical waste records, a spokeswoman told Civil Beat.
The handling of medical waste at Honolulu’s landfill became a public concern seven weeks ago when landfill operators released contaminated stormwater from Waimanalo Gulch into the ocean. Health officials said the medical waste that washed ashore beaches as a result was non-infectious, and assured the public it had been sanitized.
But Civil Beat has found limited oversight of medical waste disposal. The department told us in January that it had reviewed records showing medical waste had been sanitized but did not retain them.
On Tuesday, Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo sent an e-mail saying the department now had the records.
“I have learned that DOH has possession of the medical waste manifests provided by Waste Management to DOH back in January,” Okubo wrote in an e-mail on March 1.
The manifests Okubo describes provide a glimpse of medical waste handling by hospitals and private sanitization companies. Civil Beat was able to obtain at least some of those records from city officials, but Okubo said the records are now part of a Health Department investigation and possible enforcement case.
“The manifests are part of an investigation and possible enforcement case and therefore cannot be released at this time,” Okubo wrote.
