Citation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 2005; 54(36): 897-899.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, (in public domain), Publisher U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16163263

Abstract

Many consumer and industrial products, including fuels, solvents, fertilizers, pesticides, paints, and household cleaning disinfectants, contain hazardous substances. Improper disposal of these materials can lead to unexpected releases of toxins that are hazardous to humans and harmful to the environment. This report summarizes all known events involving improper disposal of hazardous substances reported to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) during January 2001-March 2005, describes four illustrative case reports, and provides recommendations for preventing injury resulting from improper disposal.

ATSDR maintains the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) system to collect and analyze data about the public health consequences (i.e., morbidity, mortality, and evacuation) of hazardous-substance--release events. The information in this report is based on events reported to HSEES from 18 participating state health departments† during January 2001--March 2005. Improper disposal events are defined as events in which a hazardous substance is placed in municipal waste and subsequently causes a release or potential release that requires (or would have required) removal, clean-up, or neutralization according to federal, state, or local law.

Of the 107 events, 35 (33%) resulted in injuries to 69 persons, 64 (93%) of whom were categorized as employees. HSEES does not collect specific information on type of employee injured (e.g., sanitation worker). However, evaluation of the comment field on incidence reports indicated that more than half (39 [57%]) of the 64 injured employees were sanitation workers.

This report illustrates the dangers associated with improper disposal of hazardous substances. Although improper disposal events accounted for a limited number of hazardous-substance--release events overall, HSEES has been recording approximately 25 such events per year, and the potential for additional events appears substantial.

Because many hazardous substances are toxic, flammable, corrosive, explosive, or even radioactive, they can be dangerous when disposed of improperly. Of particular concern is the hazard to sanitation workers because sanitation trucks, especially those with compactors, can easily breach hazardous substance containers, resulting in releases and mixing of substances. During this reporting period, more than half the injured persons were sanitation workers.

At least five of the events were caused by improper disposal of hazardous substances used in illicit methamphetamine laboratories (e.g., hydrochloric acid, ether, and acetone). Substances used in methamphetamine production, many of which are volatile, are often disposed of in municipal waste containers. When these substances are discarded and compacted, the potential for a hazardous release, fire, and explosion is increased.

The findings suggest the need for development and implementation of effective public health strategies to prevent improper disposal practices or injuries resulting from those practices. Such strategies include educating the public regarding proper methods for disposing of hazardous substances, promoting the use of alternative products that do not contain hazardous substances, and organizing community collection days for disposal of hazardous substances.