EPA New England Increases Enforcement Efforts For Healthcare Facilities

The New England Office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently increased its enforcement efforts for hospitals and other health care facilities due to concerns about possible environmental violations at these facilities. EPA New England (Region 1) has taken this action after EPA Region 2 discovered numerous violations at hospitals in New York and New Jersey.

According to EPA New England, there are more than 300 hospitals and thousands of other health care facilities in New England, and the potential environmental and health impacts of these operations can be significant. EPA New England states that hospitals use a wide range of toxic chemicals, generate large quantities of waste and consume vast amounts of energy and water. According to EPA Region 2, hospitals contribute to the presence of mercury, dioxin and other persistent bioaccumulative toxics in the environment, generate a wide variety of hazardous wastes, are the fourth largest source of mercury