2023-07-11 13:22:04
More than a year following Alberta environmental inspectors discovered these containers in west Edmonton, the company responsible is still working to clean up the mess.
GFM Environmental Services is subject to an enforcement order under the Environmental Protection and Improvement Act (Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act) for improper disposal and storage of biomedical and hazardous waste.
After an initial unsuccessful inspection in March 2022 and a series of extensions to comply with the law, the company now has until December 1 to dispose of this waste.
Company owner James Humen says he is having difficulty complying with the order due to the shutdown of a government-run incinerator in Swan Hills, 220 kilometers to the northwest from Edmonton.
Of the 17 containers discovered by the inspectors, 8 remain full. The rest of the waste was disposed of safely, as explained by James Humen.
According to him, the waste stored in shipping containers came from tattoo parlors, veterinary practices, and dental and medical clinics.
These are not festering things, he asserts. We are not dealing with something that is knowingly contagious, nothing anatomical. We have no relationship with hospitals. So it’s really this low-level, low-quality hardware.
The investigation began with a public complaint. The inspection revealed a series of infractions. Waste was not properly labeled or contained. There were no signs to warn people of what was stored inside, and no staff on site were qualified to handle the waste.
The company was ordered to stop collecting waste from its workshop and hire another disposal company to help clean up the premises.
Health and environmental threats
In a statement to CBC, Alberta’s Ministry of the Environment says GFM Environmental Services did not have the necessary permission to store biomedical waste, which is classified as hazardous.
The order highlights the challenges Alberta faces in eliminating the mountain of medical waste produced in the province each year.
In Alberta, incineration is the preferred method for the disposal of hazardous and biomedical waste. The province, however, faces an uncertain future due to the upcoming closure of the Swan Hills plant. This facility, which incinerates most of Alberta’s medical waste, has been out of service since the end of March due to a maintenance backlog.
In 2020, Alberta announced that it would begin phasing out the Swan Hills plant and close it completely by 2025. The province has yet to decide how it will dispose of its medical waste following closing the incinerator.
Alberta Health Services continues to seek a contractor capable of performing the work.
With information from Wallis Snowdon
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