MassDEP Penalizes Quincy Medical Center $11,500
For Air Quality and Hazardous Waste Management Violations  

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) penalized Quincy Medical Center (QMC) $11,500 for hazardous waste management and air emission violations at its 114 Whitwell Street facility in Quincy.

The hazardous waste violations identified during inspections by MassDEP on September 24-25, 2007 include:
* improper disposal of acutely-hazardous waste - empty vials of pharmaceuticals, including epinephrine;
* lack of any labeling or identification on two five-gallon containers containing hazardous waste; and,
* improper maintaining, delineating and labeling hazardous waste storage and satellite areas.
The air emission violations found during those inspections include:
* copies of the facility's air-testing records were not posted nor could they be produced during the inspection of the facility;
* QMC failed to mail its annual compliance report to MassDEP;
* inaccurate information was reported on its annual source registration forms it previously submitted to MassDEP; and,
* the facility violated its operating requirements given that it had previously sought, and obtained, from MassDEP an agreement to operate under a restricted-emission status.
 
"The proper storage and disposal of hazardous waste at medical facilities, as well as the environmental impact they have on the surrounding community, need to be given proper attention," said Richard Chalpin, the Director of MassDEP's Northeast Regional office in Wilmington. "One of the principle doctrines in the medical field is, 'First, Do No Harm' and that might equally be applied to the facility's operational issues as well."

In addition to the penalty, QMC will test and revise its air emission data and review and where appropriate revise its operational procedures for hazardous waste management. The facility's standard operational procedures manual will be submitted to MassDEP within 120 days. 

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