Chemotherapy waste
disposal halted at
Waimanalo landfill

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

A shipment of chemotherapy waste from several Oahu hospitals was turned around from a landfill yesterday and another one was canceled today.

Medical and health officials said they've halted disposal of such waste in the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill in Makakilo until they can address community concerns. The Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board is scheduled to meet on the issue at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Campbell Building in Kapolei.

This past week, hospitals began sending materials associated with chemotherapy treatment to the landfill, including empty IV bags, tubing, syringes, empty vials, disposable gowns and gloves. No needles are included.

The hospitals have rented freezers to store pathological waste but say they're reaching capacity.

Castle Medical Center burned chemotherapy and pathological waste from the other nine hospitals in its Kailua incinerator until Feb. 1, when the practice was halted because of community concerns. The Healthcare Association of Hawaii, representing hospitals and nursing facilities, has been looking for solutions to the dilemma.

Bruce Anderson, state Health Department deputy director for environmental health who becomes department director next month, said the landfill is probably the best option for disposing of chemotherapy waste.

"Lots of materials disposed in the landfill probably pose more risk" and they are managed in a way that they don't pose a health problem, he said.

Anderson said most chemotherapy waste is "inert plastic material," which caused the most concern when burned at Castle

blrb The practice is stopped until concerns in the community can be addressed. because of the possibility of toxic gases. The landfill management firm has a "special waste" section that's governed by federal regulations for hazardous waste.

However, Sen. Brian Kanno (D-Ewa Beach, Makakilo) said the community wasn't informed of the disposal plan until the day before Thanksgiving, although the DOH approved it in August.

"I thought it was not appropriate for them not to have come to the community way back then," he said. Kanno said he wrote to the Health Department on Friday asking that the disposal activities be halted until plans are discussed with the community.

Anderson said he contacted the Healthcare Association yesterday to hold off on any more shipments until the community meets.

Richard E. Meiers, Healthcare Association president and CEO, said he immediately notified the hospitals yesterday not to send any more waste to the landfill until Wednesday's meeting.

Meiers, in Florida for a conference, said by telephone today that disposal of chemotherapy waste in the landfill is safe but "the last thing we want to do is get neighbors upset."