WILLIAMSPORT – The Department of Environmental Protection has fined Troy Community Hospital $3,000 for a number of infectious waste violations discovered at the hospital last year.
“The violations DEP found were corrected the same day by hospital staff, and they also submitted a written plan to DEP to prevent them from recurring,” said DEP Northcentral Regional Director Robert Yowell.
During a routine inspection at the hospital in October, DEP staff found an open lid on a container for discarded needles and other sharp objects, as well as a cart used to transport infectious waste that was not labeled properly. The hospital also failed to have protective clothing available for employees packaging infectious waste or immediately labeling infectious waste storage containers for off-site transportation.
The hospital subsequently submitted an action plan to DEP outlining how it would correct the violations, which the agency reviewed and approved.
Infectious waste includes cultures and stocks, human pathological waste, and human blood and body fluid waste. DEP regulations require that it be segregated from municipal waste and specially packaged for disposal at a permitted facility.
The fine was paid to the Solid Waste Abatement Fund, which is used to pay for cleanups across the state.