(KRON) — The Santa Clara County District Legal professional’s Workplace is investigating the county’s hospital system for illegally dumping waste that included human flesh, blood-filled vials, confidential affected person data, and fentanyl.
The investigation confirmed that Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s hospitals didn’t lawfully get rid of its waste, leading to tons of contaminated trash, prosecutors stated.
The DA’s Workplace stated it is going to deliver a civil enforcement motion towards the county. State legislation requires turbines of medical and unsafe waste to handle it from “cradle to grave” to make sure its correct storage, transportation, and disposal.
“The county’s health and hospital system is run with taxpayer dollars,” District Legal professional Jeff Rosen stated. “The public needs to know what happened, and the county will not get a free pass.”
Starting in November 2023, investigators placed on hazmat fits and performed a collection of unannounced waste inspections of the rubbish compactors hauled away from Valley Medical Heart, O’Connor Hospital, and St. Louise Hospital. The DA investigators have been assisted by staff from the state’s Division of Poisonous Substances Management.
“Items they found sorting through the garbage were: human tissue; fluid blood; non-empty vials of prescription drugs, such as antibiotics, anesthetics, and even fentanyl; over-the-counter drugs; liquid and solid hazardous waste items; batteries; e-waste; and hundreds of documents and labels with unredacted personal patient information,” the District Legal professional’s Workplace wrote.
Primarily based on the sample of violations discovered in the course of the eight waste inspections, investigators stated they estimated that tens of 1000’s of things of medical and unsafe waste have been illegally disposed of within the trash by the three county hospitals within the final 12 months.
State legislation carries civil penalties of as much as $70,000 per disposal of hazardous waste and as much as $10,000 per disposal of medical waste.
