Regulator bites!

“Scripps Health and Sharp Memorial Hospital have settled separate civil lawsuits with the county District Attorney’s Office for improperly disposing medical and hazardous wastes, including human blood and tissue, in the Miramar Landfill.

“The District Attorney filed the lawsuits after both Scripps and Sharp received multiple citations over two years for improperly handling, transporting and storing medical wastes both at the hospitals and at the landfill.

“Scripps Health, which operates five hospitals in the county, agreed to pay $272,870 in civil penalties and court costs and $16,000 to purchase equipment for city landfill inspectors.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/07/scripps-sharp-hospitals-cited-medical-waste-violat/

 

That’s quite a penalty, though the news report tells of a long-standing failure to segregate wastes and many prior regulatory interventions that, as far as we can tell, were largely ignored. It is, therefore, quite right that a substantial penalty is imposed.

Now, what penalty for the Regulator that seemingly failed in its duty to prevent these waste violations repeated over such a long long time?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.