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Container hauler in EPA toxic waste fine

Hospital waste deposited at unlicensed Melbourne site

 

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria has fined a transport company for unlawfully storing toxic hospital waste at its depot in Melbourne.

An EPA investigation found two shipping containers of waste at Melbourne Container Transport’s Kororoit Creek Road premises.

EPA western metropolitan regional manager Stephen Lansdell says the containers filled with toxic hospital waste had been stored for over two weeks.


A NSW firm was recently firmed for radiation transport and storage offences


 

“Inside, they found plastic-wrapped pallet loads of cardboard boxes and plastic containers carrying surgical masks, gowns, gloves and other items used by doctors when applying cytotoxic chemicals used in some cancer treatments,” Lansdell says.

“EPA has fined the company $8,261 for depositing industrial waste at a site that is not licensed to accept that type of waste.”

The contents of the containers were safely incinerated by a licensed company.

“While it was resolved without any hazard to people’s health, a case like this is disappointing because businesses have a clear responsibility to know the rules and do the right thing by the environment and the community,” Lansdell says.

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