The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a revised set of standards for hospital, medical and infectious waste incinerators that will require facilities to reduce their emissions.
The tougher standards, according to information published by the EPA, are expected to reduce the output of medical waste incinerator pollutants such as acid gases, nitrogen, oxides and heavy metals by more than 390,000 pounds annually. The agency estimates that it will cost the existing 57 medical-waste incinerator operators roughly $15.5 million annually to comply with the new standards.
