
DATE: Friday, November 14, 1997             TAG: 9711140655

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   67 lines

TRASH AGENCY TRIES TO REDUCE RISK FROM DISCARDED SYRINGES

About 66,000 diabetics live in Hampton Roads - and that means a lot of insulin needles going into the trash each day.

At least one public employee, a recycling sorter, has been pricked by a used needle. The incident, along with other near misses and an increasing number of dirty syringes showing up in recycling bins, has sparked worker fears and health concerns.

To help combat the problem, the Southeastern Public Service Authority, with a $20,000 grant from the Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation, is offering a new service: free, safe needle disposal in the home.

Called the first of its kind in Virginia, the giveaway program will be announced Saturday at the Diabetes Expo '97 in Chesapeake. But already, 5,000 plastic containers about the size of a piggy bank have been delivered to local health clinics and Eckerd stores and are available to diabetics and others who inject themselves with medicine, said SPSA spokeswoman Felicia Walker Blow.

The tough red shells hold up to 100 syringes. Once they are filled, the containers are sealed, locked and tossed into the trash. The results: fewer threats to employees and fewer chances of contaminated syringes and lancets getting into the environment.

``This is a new thing we're trying here,'' said Carla Medlin, regional director of the American Diabetes Association. ``If people embrace it here - if it works - our national headquarters is talking about picking up on the idea.''

The program is not aimed at intravenous drug abusers, who ``shoot'' heroin or cocaine, organizers stressed. But, they said, the containers will be handed out to anyone who says they need one.

Most old needles are handled as hazardous waste. Hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices are supposed to separate syringes from everyday garbage.

They then are packaged by special contractors, who usually dispose of such medical wastes by burning them at licensed incinerators.

But diabetics and other self-medicating patients are not subject to the same government protocol. They often throw their needles into the garbage or collect them in plastic, recyclable jugs, Medlin said.

When these needle-stuffed jugs pass through recycling centers, though, workers can get pricked as they rummage through piles of reusable goods. Or, if the needles are left in the trash, garbage collectors can inadvertently grab a bagful of pointed steel.

``The first thing our folks usually think of is AIDS or some other disease, and we've got a problem,'' said Blow, who designed the program for SPSA.

SPSA hopes to obtain future grants to continue the giveaway program.

But if money is not available, Blow said, the trash agency hopes local diabetics buy their own $5 containers to shield workers and the public from old needles.

``It's all part of an education process,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

THE PROGRAM

To prevent garbage workers from being pricked by needles, the

Southeastern Public Service Authority is offering free containers

for the disposal of syringes, such as those used by diabetics. Each

jug can hold up to 100 syringes.

DETAILS

The Southeastern Public Service Authority is giving away free

containers for needle disposal under a new health and safety

program. To get one, visit any Eckerd pharmacy in South Hampton

Roads, any public health clinic or Bennett's Creek Pharmacy in

Suffolk. For more information, call the program's hotline,