Medical Waste Tracking Act

Why was it passed?

Why did it fail?

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Why?

In June 1988 vials of blood from medical testing were washed up on New Jersey beaches.

By August vials were found from the Great Lakes to Florida

By November the Act was passed and became law

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What happened? - I

In 1989 the EPA (Environmental Tracking Agency) issued rules defining the tracking

Connecticut, New York and New Jersey had to participate

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What happened? - II

Rhode Island and Puerto Rico volunteered to participate

Great Lakes and East Cost States did not

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How did it progress?

For two years participating States were to run the tracking and see if the situation improved

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Why did it fail?

Too much overlap of local, State and Federal regulations that had no agreed standards.

No commitment to go beyond this trial stage.

After 2 years the hype had gone so there was no felt need to continue.

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What were the effects?

Catastrophic decline of tourism in New York and New Jersey.

One medical lab was prosecuted for deliberately dumping vials of blood into the ocean. It went out of business.

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What can be learned?

The media made this top of the agenda in a Presidential Election year. The problem is keeping it at the top of the agenda to get lasting change.

There are better ways to dealing with blood vials but getting the best incinerators is being opposed by local environmentalists.

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