William McCreary, PhD.  Bio

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Chemotherapy chemicals, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Toothless Enforcement by EPA

Recently, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, ranked as one of the ‘best of the best hospitals’ according to public opinion and a recent study by US News, was fined nearly a quarter of a million dollars for improperly disposing of chemotherapy waste and other hazardous materials. Chemicals used for chemotherapy, along with mercury poisoned waste, were improperly stored and labelled as regulations require.  Christine Hickey, a hospital spokeswoman, said the chemotherapy chemicals were originally handled and labelled as regular medical waste and not as hazardous chemical waste, as regulations require. 

But Sloan- Kettering is not alone. The eastern seaboard branch of the EPA has issued more than $1 million in fines regarding the disposal of hazardous waste materials based upon random inspections within their region. More than 40 compliance regulations were noted and served as the basis for these fines. However, the EPA has waived more than $9 million in fines for more than 1100 violations because they were ‘self reported from the hospitals’.  It appears that there is more money for hospitals to save through self reporting their non compliance, than there is money to make in finding less toxic and more effective means of dealing with death and disease.

If fines by the government body who is supposed to protect the general public from exposure to these very toxins are being waived, and there are no punishments, where is the incentive to change? If hospitals are in the business of making money, but they save more money by cheating, what is the outcome. Again, the rich get richer and the sick get sicker.

Until the hospitals are willing to work with the existing integrative health care options that are truly green (environmentally, not economically) and be willing to integrate them into the ‘hallowed institutions of medical healing’, this cycle will continue. Health care is big business and profit is the bottom line. Sadly, the health and well being of the very patients they are supposed to be concerned with, have become of secondary import. There are options and choices that will facilitate both the needs of the patient and the needs of the environment. Unfortunately, they are not so good for big business and their bottom line.

But remember, if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always done. 

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