Category Archives: Public Safety

Stop Vaping! Get Informed First.

Healthcare, Healthcare Industry, Healthy Living, Most Popular, Public Safety, , , ,

There is a VAPING CRISIS currently underway! A new, swiftly manifesting, life threatening illness has been linked to Vaping. Are you at risk? Put down the e-cigarette and get some information before putting it back in your mouth.

As of October 1st, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (the CDC) had reported 1,080 cases of VAPI- vaping-associated-pulmonary injury.

(There is also another term, EVALI, which stands for e-cigarette and vaping associated lung injury. )

The report started with a handful of cases announced at the end of July, after patients showed up in emergency rooms with a mysterious and fast-progressing respiratory illness that had no known cause. Doctors discovered only one common denominator between the patients: Their vaping habit.

The FDA, CDC and State Health Officials stepped in to investigate so they can determine a specific cause, and how to prevent, diagnose and treat Vape-related illnesses in the future.

So far, the lung disease has not been linked to any specific device, brand, or flavor of vape, but some ingredients have been singled out as possible culprits.

These ingredients are not usually present in regulated products, and have been found highly prevalent in black market, or knockoff vaping hardware.

Currently, the main suspects in this ongoing investigation are Vitamin E oil and THC. Both were used and inhaled by the VAPI patients.

The VAPI/EVALI illness typically begins with shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue, fever, symptoms of severe pneumonia, and respiratory failure. It has affected mostly young people so far, and the death toll is still rising.

There are two related hot topics that have come up due to the Vaping Illness crisis:

Teen vaping, and illicit vaping products.

Teen vaping has been a rising concern for a while.

Long before an 18-year-old in Wisconsin walked into her doctor’s office gasping for air in July, there has been a general panic about the teen vaping rate. Public health officials, pediatricians, and parents, were all expressing their concerns.

In 2018, Scott Gottlieb, who was then the head of the FDA, labeled youth vaping an “epidemic” and declared his intent to target teen vaping and curb illegal e-cigarette sales.

Bans especially targeted flavored vape products, which teens favor. The flavor makes the products seem more innocuous than they actually are, and teens forget to be cautious with them.

The other issue that has come up is the origin of the THC and Vitamin E oil, which are likely the culprits that caused the VAPI.

THC is the psychoactive substance in marijuana. Cannabis products are already under a federal ban in most states. Even in states where cannabis sale is legal, sales are still age-restricted.

There is a thriving illicit THC and flavored vaping products market, though, where the items are not regulated or tested. 

As reference, before any licensed California cannabis producer can send out their products, the company has to send them to a lab to test for numerous toxins. Just as an example, at the California CannaSafe lab, products are tested for 66 pesticides, heavy metals, solvents, mold-related toxins, and more (including mouse hairs). Now, after VAPI, the company will be testing for Vitamin E oils as well.

Recently, CannaSafe obtained and tested some 100 black-market THC oils. There were pesticides in them that would have failed California’s standards. There was a presence of Vitamin E in about 90% of the oils.

One of the pesticides CannaSafe found in unregulated THC above tolerated levels was Myclobutanil, (also called Eagle 20) which converts to hydrogen cyanide when heated.

Hydrogen Cyanide is a base for Zyklon-B, the gas the Nazis used in the gas chambers.

In legal cannabis, California regulations permit no more than 100 parts per billion of hydrogen cyanide to be present.

Due to the high level of unregulated THC products available for sale, some states have taken to banning e-cigarettes entirely. Critics, however, claim that if there are less approved and regulated products available, more people will flock to buy the stuff from illicit sources, making the problem worse, and not better.

So, before you pick up that e-cigarette, think about where you bought the parts and accessories.

Always double check on the dispensary/store/seller to make sure they are abiding by the product’s safety regulations, especially if you are smoking something with THC in it. 

FDA officials said investigators from its Office of Criminal Investigations have been pursuing a parallel investigation since shortly after the illnesses were first reported this summer. They are investigating criminal activities involving FDA-regulated products, arresting those responsible for breaches in said regulations and bringing them before the Justice Department for prosecution. The focus of the investigation is the chain of supply, so if you come forward with information as a retailer, they may not be prosecuting you.

The public has been urged to be vigilant about any unregulated vaping products they are using themselves, or those used by family members, and contact their health provider immediately if they develop unusual symptoms. Unknown or unregulated substances are always dangerous to ingest or inhale.

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We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

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USPS Hazardous, Restricted and Perishable Mail.

Public Safety

Hazardous, Restricted and Perishable Mail

When we think of a mailman having a bad day, we usually imagine an aggressive dog at one of the delivery addresses or a long block, heavy packages, and a heat wave. We don’t usually think of severe bodily injury and hospital stays.

But the Postal Service does.

The USPS spends $101 million annually to screen every piece of first-class mail sent or received by U.S. households and mail sent to federal addresses in Washington.

With tens of thousands of postal facilities to protect, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has responded to more than 52,000 calls about suspicious mail since 2001. Inspectors respond to about 10 calls daily. Most are false alarms.

The Postal Service now relies on both human checks and machine screenings to track suspicious mail. Shift supervisors receive regular updates on evolving threats. Postal Inspectors practice regularly with local law enforcement agencies in anticipation of an attack.

Employees are trained to be on the lookout for envelopes without a return address, an invalid Zip code, or weird or scribbled jargon. Sharp objects protruding through boxes or dust or liquids leaking from envelopes is also a potential threat. Questionable pieces of mail are supposed to be turned over to inspectors for further screening.

Hazardous, Resticted, Harmful:

To put it simply:

Some Things cannot be sent in the mail.

Those Things fall into one of the above categories: Hazardous/Harmful, Restricted, or Perishable/NonMailable Things.

If you need to send something that falls into the above categories, you need to label it properly. Ask for help to do this, because the labeling and shipping protocols are long and complicated.

If you send a Hazardous, Restricted, or Harmful Thing in the mail without following the correct protocol, you will be slapped with a very large penalty.

Hazardous Material:

A Hazardous Material is any article or substance designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation as being capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, or property during transportation.

 

In international commerce, hazardous materials are known as “Dangerous Goods.”

 

Every hazardous material is assigned to one of these nine hazard classes:

 

Class 1: Explosives.

Class 2: Gases.

Class 3: Flammable and Combustible Liquids.

Class 4: Flammable Solids.

Class 5: Oxidizing Substances, Organic Peroxides.

Class 6: Toxic Substances and Infectious Substances.

Class 7: Radioactive Materials.

Class 8: Corrosives.

Class 9: Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials.

Some of the nine hazard classes are further separated into divisions based on their physical or chemical properties. For postal purposes, Exhibit 331 summarizes the mailability of hazardous materials by hazard class.

 

 

If it can kill or injure another person, it is Hazardous Mail. If it is likely to destroy, deface or otherwise damage the mail, postal equipment or other property, it is Harmful Mail.

Harmful matter includes, but is not limited to:

  1. All types and classes of poisons, such as caustic poisons (acids and alkalis), and oxidizers. Controlled substances are also included in this class.
  2. All poisonous animals, except scorpions mailed for medical research purposes or for the manufacture of anti-venom (or antivenin or antivenene); all poisonous insects; all poisonous reptiles; and all types of snakes, turtles, and spiders.
  3. All disease germs or scabs.
  4. All explosives, flammable material, infernal machines, and mechanical, chemical, or other devices or compositions that may ignite or explode. Highly flammable liquids, gases or solids, or any material that under conditions that take place during transportation can cause fire through friction, absorption of moisture, or spontaneous chemical changes or from retained heat from manufacturing or processing, including explosives or containers previously used for shipping high explosives with a liquid ingredient (such as dynamite), ammunition, fireworks, radioactive materials, matches, or articles emitting obnoxious odors.

 

The following descriptions could indicate Dangerous Goods or Hazardous Materials:

Acidic, Caustic, Combustible, Communicable, Corrsoive, Explosive, Flammabe, Compressed gas, Radioactive, Poison. Toxic, Infectious, Volatile.

The USPS and UPS have an updated list of items on their websites.

 

Restricted Matter:

 

Restricted matter includes articles on which mailing restrictions have been imposed for reasons other than risk of harm to persons or property involved in moving the mail.

 

Motor vehicle master keys, abortive and contraceptive devices, odd-shaped items in envelopes, locksmithing devices and intoxicating liquors are examples of restricted items.

 

Perishable Matter:

Perishable matter is anything that can deteriorate in the mail and thereby lose value, create a health hazard, or cause an obnoxious odor, nuisance, or disturbance, under ordinary mailing conditions.

Examples of perishable matter include mailable types of live animals, food items, and plants.

 

The Postal Service provides these labels and tags for affixing to the outside of mailpieces containing bees, live animals, or perishable matter:

  1. Label 27, Bee Ware!
  2. Label 28, Live Animals.
  3. Tag 9, Perishable — Do Not Delay.
  4. Label 127, Surface Transportation O

Mailable perishable matter may be sent at the mailer’s own risk when it is packaged as required and when it can be delivered within appropriate and reasonable time limits to prevent deterioration.

 

The USPS works with shippers wishing to mail various substances. There is a protocol in place for mailing Hazardous, Harmful, Restricted and Perishable Materials.

Acceptability for mailing hazardous materials depends on many factors, such as: “the container fluid/vapor capacities, the ability of the complete mailpiece to contain the material, and the method of absorbing and containing the material in case of accidental leakage of the primary receptacle.”

Normal conditions for transport should always be taken into consideration. All shippers who offer packages containing liquids, for example, must be trained to understand and apply the stringent standards for vibration, pressure and temperature because of the higher risk and possible dire consequences. This is especially critical when it comes to shipments by air.

To determine mailability of a specific material, a mailer must submit a material safety data sheet (MSDS) (see Appendix D) and the following information to the PCSC (see 213 for address):

  1. Common and proper shipping name of the material, hazard class, and the assigned United Nations (UN) or North American (NA) identification number.
  2. Chemical composition by percentage of weight.
  3. Flashpoint.
  4. Toxic properties.
  5. Irritant action when inhaled, swallowed, or with contact to skin or eyes.
  6. Special precautions necessary to permit handling without harm to USPS employees or damage to property or other mail.
  7. Explanation of warning labels and shipping papers required by local, state, or federal regulations.
  8. Description of the proposed packaging method, including the addressing, required markings, and documentation.
  9. Volume of material per mailpiece, proposed number of pieces to be mailed, class of mail, and post office(s) of mailing.

 

Full responsibility rests with the mailer to comply with all Postal Service and non–Postal Service laws and regulations in the mailing of hazardous material. Anyone who mails, or causes to be mailed, a nonmailable or improperly packaged hazardous material can be subject to legal penalties (i.e., fines and/or imprisonment), including but not limited to, those specified in 18 U.S.C. The transport of hazardous materials prior to entry as U.S. Mail and after receipt from the Postal Service is subject to DOT regulations.

 

Civil penalties are assessed for knowingly violating a hazardous material transportation law or a regulation, order, special permit, or approval issued under that law. The following updated civil penalties apply to violations occurring on or after October 1, 2012:

    • The maximum civil penalty is increased from $55,000 to $75,000 for knowingly violating federal hazardous material transportation law.

 

  • The maximum civil penalty for knowingly violating laws and regulations that result in death, serious illness, severe injury to any person, or substantial destruction of property is increased from $110,000 to $175,000.

 

  • The $250 minimum civil penalty has been eliminated.
  • The civil penalty for violations related to training has reverted to $450.

When someone breaks the rules, it puts us all at risk. The consequences for doing so should be substantial enough to discourage misconduct.”PHMSA administrator Cynthia Quarterman

Amazon.com, Inc.—fined $91,000

Amazon improperly shipped a package containing flammable liquid adhesive by air via FedEx. FedEx employees discovered a gallon container of the adhesive that was leaking. The adhesive is classified as a hazardous material under the DOT regulations. Amazon offered the shipment without the requisite shipping papers or emergency response information, and did not mark, label or properly package the shipment. Amazon also failed to properly train its employees in preparing hazmat packages for shipment by air.

Alfa Chemistry—proposed fine $325,000 (still to be settled; imagine the legal costs)

 

Although the Postal Service makes every effort to inform its customers of the mailability of particular harmful matter via the DMM standards and the information in this and other publications, it is the responsibility of the mailer to fully meet all requirements prior to mailing. See 212 for more complete information on the responsibilities of mailers.

 

 

 

 

All the stuff you can’t mail http://www.nerdylorrin.net/jerry/postages/USPS-ForbiddenItems.html

This Product Has Been Recalled 75 Times

Healthcare Industry, Product Recalls, Public Safety, , ,

On May 6, 2019, Vivimed Life Sciences put out another recall for losartan.

The American Health Packaging recall of valsartan on March 7, 2019, the 75th recall of blood pressure medication since the initial contamination occurred.

The problem with the contamination of blood pressure medication has gotten so widespread that the FDA authorized a new generic of valsartan to help relieve shortages when lots after lots of the existing medication were recalled.

Also, the agency compiled a list of 40 blood pressure medications that seem free of contamination. You can find that list here.

Which blood pressure drugs have been recalled?

The common prescription drugs for blood pressure that have been recalled so far include valsartan, losartan, and irbesartan in different combinations and from different manufacturers.

Why have the drugs been recalled?

In each case, a recalled drug was contaminated with N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) or N-Nitroso N-Methyl 4-amino butyric acid (NMBA).

Those chemicals are believed to cause cancer in humans. Research also suggests NDEA can cause liver and blood cell damage.

NDEA is a byproduct of industrial processes, and the FDA is working on identifying how it has been getting into the medication. It can also be created by other chemical reactions. It is found in very low levels in some food and in drinking water, and is used to make rocket fuel.

Can you get cancer from the contaminated drugs?

The FDA says the risk is very low. They estimate that if 8,000 people took the highest valsartan dose, which is 320 milligrams, from recalled batches every day for 4 years, there would likely only be one additional case of cancer over the life of those 8,000 people.

What should you do if you have a perscription for one of the recalled drugs?

Don’t stop taking the medication. The threat from the contamination in the drug is a lesser threat than the consequences of stopping the use of the medication.

However, do contact your pharmacist or Doctor as soon as possible.

They can help you find an alternative.

Because so much of the blood pressure drugs have been recalled, this may be a little more difficult than usual. Also, keep in mind that drugs that are not on the list of recalls are more in demand and therefore the price may have gotten higher.

WebMD has an article up that summarizes the rash of blood pressure medication recalls. You can read the full report here.

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We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

MedWaste’s Product Store 

Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California

 

ANOTHER Recall?? More Blood Pressure Meds Taken Off The Market.

Healthcare Industry, Product Recalls, Public Safety, , , ,

“Legacy Pharmaceutical Packaging, LLC Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Losartan Potassium Tablets, USP, 25mg, 50mg, And 100mg Due to The Detection of Trace Amounts Of N-Nitroso N-Methyl 4-Amino Butyric Acid (NMBA) Impurity Found in The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API)”.

We have been following recall notices about blood pressure drugs valsartan and losartan. 

This latest recall follows several others announced since July, when the FDA announced the recall of five separate valsartan blood pressure drugs over possible NDEA and NDMA contamination.

Many more were announced in August as the recall spread to Canada and the European Union. And earlier this month, a blood pressure drug known as irbesartan was recalled as well.

So far, recall notices have been issued for multiple lots, with multiple updates, by multiple generic drug manufacturers. Some of the manufacturers who issued recalls in the past several months include:

Teva, Legacy, Torrent, Sandov, Macleods,  Aurobindo Pharma USA,   Mylan’s.

This is by far the longest-running, ongoing spread of recalls we’ve noticed in the past three years.

What is going on?

Turns out that we weren’t the only curious ones. Bloomberg.com spent a year investigating the FDA’s regulations of the generic drug industry and found a drop-off in inspections and the softening of penalties when problems are identified. Data integrity is compromised as well. FDA inspections at factories from West Virginia to China give cause to doubt the data meant to prove the safety and efficacy of drugs.

Bloomberg’s has done a lot of research on generic drugs and the FDA’s quality control. One of their conclusion was that due to the data integrity problems, even the drugs that are not being recalled may not be as effective or safe as they are meant to be.

Safety and efficacy concerns are not limited to drugs using active ingredients from India and China, but also to drugs manufactured in the States.

Bloomberg has a host of articles around the subject of generic drugs and where we are headed, and they are not encouraging.

One of the reasons for the increased laxity in regulations may be the generic drug initiative run by Scott Gottlieb, FDA Commissioner.

Scott Gottlieb was the FDA Commissioner since May 2017, and spearheaded several important initiatives. Among these are finding solutions to the opioid crises, food safety modernization, an initiative to minimize youth nicotine, youth vaping, and general nicotine addiction.

Another top priority for Gottlieb was getting more generic drugs into the market. The extra competition would drive down prices. This has drawn praise from both parties in Congress and, as an aside, is one of the issues President Trump said he would take care of if he was voted President. Everybody was happy.

In the effort to fast-track generic drug manufacture, some approvals for generic drugs may have come at the expense of quality assurance and oversight to ensure the efficacy and safety of the drugs.

On March 5, 2019, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced that he was resigning from his post as FDA Commissioner. He will be leaving in April. Will the FDA tighten regulations after he leaves? We can’t be sure.

They will definitely keep working on keeping more drugs accessible to more people- and on the other initiatives Gottlieb spearheaded during his reign as the FDA Commissioner.

Perhaps, now that Gottlieb put a system in place, they will spend more time fixing the bugs in the system and plugging the holes that allow ineffective and unsafe drugs to hit the market. Maybe we will all notice that our medication is working better all of a sudden, and spend less time visiting Doctors to try different versions of what is supposed to be the same basic drug. Maybe the drug prices will go up again. Who knows?

In the meantime, keep checking for updates on drug recalls on our website, or go directly to the FDA’s website.

Above all, Be Safe.

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We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

MedWaste’s Product Store 

Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California

 

Ibuprofen for Infants Is Being Recalled by Tris Pharma, Inc.

Product Recalls, Public Safety

Three lots of Infants’ Ibuprofen Concentrated Oral Suspension, USP (NSAID) 50 mg per 1.25 mL, are being recalled by Tris Pharma.

These lots had potentially higher concentrations of ibuprofen in the bottles. 

It is possible that infants, who are more susceptible to slight variations in potency, may suffer adverse side effects if the medication is a higher concentration than listed.

Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), used commonly for pain relief. It works by blocking your body’s production of substances that cause inflammation. This effect helps to decrease swelling, pain, or fever.

Possible side effects from an incorrect dose of ibuprofen may include permanent NSAID-associated renal injury.

Infants taking ibuprofen can suffer serious bleeding as a side effect- usually gastrointestinal bleeding, commonly in the stomach but possibly anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract. Bloody vomit, a stomachache that doesn’t go away, and feeling faint are indicators of stomach bleeding.

Other possible side effects are liver problems like jaundice and hepatitis. As many as 15 percent of infants taking ibuprofen showed elevated liver function.

When giving a child ibuprofen, keep an eye out for nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain,and, more rarely, diarrhea.

Tris Pharma, Inc., sold the affected lots to only one customer, who distributed the ibuprofen to Family Wellness, CVS, and Equate, among others. Tris Pharma, Inc. has urgently notified this customer and is arranging the return of all affected products.

To date, Tris Pharma, Inc. hasn’t received any reports of adverse side effects related to the lots they are recalling.

The affected lots are listed on the FDA website.

Tris Pharma is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative medicines that address unmet patient needs. Using its proprietary technology platform, LiquiXR®, Tris has pioneered the delivery of sustained release in the liquid, chewable, orally disintegrating tablet, and other dosage forms that benefits a wide variety of patients and their unique needs. Tris’ Nobuse™ technology provides abuse deterrence for opioids and other abuse-prone drugs. Tris’ research, manufacturing and commercial facilities are located in Central New Jersey. For more information, please visit their website. .

Consumers with questions regarding this ibuprofen recall can contact Tris Customer Service at 732-940-0358 (Monday through Friday, 8:00am ET- 5:00pm PT) or via email at Customer Service Email .

Adverse reactions or quality problems associated with the use of this product should be reported to a physician or hospital. After that, they should be reported to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either by phone, on line, by regular mail or by fax.

This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

You can now follow the FDA on Facebook and Twitter. Get immediate, up-to-date notices about product recalls and other important notifications.

We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

MedWaste’s Product Store 

Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California

 

 

 

 

 

Quick Overview of the Opioid Crisis

Drug Take Back, Prescription Drug & Medicine Disposal, Public Safety

On October 26, 2017, President Trump announced that his Administration was declaring the opioid crisis a national Public Health Emergency under federal law, effective immediately. “I am directing all executive agencies to use every appropriate emergency authority to fight the opioid crisis,” the President said.

Declaring the Opioid Crisis a national Public Health Emergency legally authorizes federal, state, tribal, and local authorities to allocate existing personnel and resources toward opioid prevention efforts.

It also waives some key legal inhibitions, ramps up critical public health surveillance, and facilitates greater coordination across federal agencies. Mainly, these agencies and authorities are focusing on the developing the following three solutions:

Money.

 Innovation costs money. All the organizations and government, pharma, and medicine that are working to stem the flow of the opioid crisis need money to put their ideas into practice, so directing funds to all the people working to solve the opioid crisis is going to be a primary concern. Where exactly is the money going to be spent? Each agency has their own list of needs.

Some of the money is to be used for creating more access to addiction treatments, as many patients with opioid addictions simply cannot afford the detox and addiction treatments currently available.     

Another costly way to reduce opioid death is furnishing emergency personnel with naloxone, which is the primary treatment for opioid overdose. Naloxone is costly. The government can force Pharma to slash prices. We’re still working on that- it hasn’t happened yet.

Regulation-.

First of all, going after the bad guys who are importing opioids in an unregulated manner. To this end,  Trump signed the INTERDICT Act in January, 2018. This law directs the Department of Homeland Security to provide additional tools and resources to detect and intercept the supply of illicit fentanyl.

Trump spoke about handing out the Death Penalty to drug dealers.

He also is still emphatic about strengthening the wall between the U.S. and Mexico, which supplies a lot of the US’s illicit drugs.       

Regulation also includes the FDA’s efforts to create better guidelines, reporting systems, and a way to regulate the prescribed opioids in the U.S. Patients requiring certain medications containing opioids are already having a more difficult time getting their prescription refilled, and they are not happy. They are forming groups and creating petitions for medical opioids that will not interfere or limit the patient’s medical treatments.

Education.

 Many addictions start without the knowledge of the person developing the addiction, or without the knowledge of people around them that could have prevented or assisted with the addiction. Explaining the effects of drugs to teenagers is always appropriate.

Giving patients good information about their prescribed medication, and creating a list of alternative ways to treat, control and handle pain is another way to reduce opioid addiction numbers.

Proper disposal of opioids is a very big step toward decreasing the numbers of opioid addiction and death, and it is something everyone can do.

Follow us for more information on the latest innovations, solutions, and news about the opioid crisis.

The DEA and Google both provide locators to find your nearest prescription drug take back locations.

Check out The DEA and Google pages below. They contain tools and more info on the ever growing efforts to help people properly dispose of their unused prescription drugs. This is certainly part of the bigger plan to help end the opioid crisis.

DEA’s Prescription Drug Take Back Location Tool

Google’s Prescription Drug Take Back Location Tool

We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

MedWaste’s Product Store 

Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California

Puriton Eye Relief Drops Can Harm Your Eyes.

Product Recalls, Public Safety, ,

Kadesh Incorporation Issued a Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Puriton Eye Relief Drops. The complete statement can be found on the FDA’s recall page.

The recall was due to non-sterile conditions during production.

When the FDA inspected the production site, the investigators discovered that the necessary production controls and conditions for sterility were not being observed.

Opthalmic drugs are required to be sterile in particular, because using a non-sterile eye drop can potentially threaten the vision of the consumer due to the risk of an eye infection. Also, the pH factor of the eye drops can cause direct destruction of tissues in the anterior chamber, cornea, and even deeper in the eye.

This can potentially cause scarring, vision loss, or glaucoma.

To date, there have been no reports of adverse effects related to the Puriton Eye Relief Drops.

Purtion Eye Relief Drops is an over-the-counter homeopathic eye drop product. Its uses include temporary relief of burning and irritation of the eye due to dryness and temporary relied of discomfort due to minor irritations to the eye, like wind and sun exposure. Other uses were the relief of redness, watery eyes, inflamed eyes, itching, burning, tearing eyes, eye pain, and lubricant.

Kadesh, Inc. of Garden Grove, CA is voluntarily recalling all lots of Puriton EyeRelief Drops , 0.5 oz. (15ml) bottle, UPC 7 36972 1679 0, to the consumer level.

It is packaged in a 15 ml plastic bottle, and was distributed nationwide through the company’s online stores and the retail distributors they work with. All distributors and customers are being notified by letter and Kadesh is arranging for the return of all the recalled products.

As of now, the product cannot be found anywhere online, neither on the Puriton website nor online markets like Amazon.

Anyone who has recalled eye drops should stop usage or sale of the product.

Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact the Recall Department at contact@puriton.us, available Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm (Pacific Time).

Product may be returned to Kadesh Inc. by mail:

4731 Lincoln Way, Garden Grove, CA 92841.

Anyone who experienced any problems that may be related to the use of the non-sterile product should contact their healthcare provider.

Adverse reactions or quality problems associated with the use of this product may be reported to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either by phone, on line, by regular mail or by fax.

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We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

MedWaste’s Product Store 

Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California

 

Losartan: Another Blood Pressure Medication Is Being Recalled

Product Recalls, Public Safety, , ,

The FDA is recalling Irbesartan and Losartan, more angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), after discovering traces of NDEA in them.

This new recall is for Losartan sold by Sandoz.

The recall is only for the 100mg/25mg tablets and does not involve other versions of the losartan drug.

This recall impacts less then 1% for the total losartan drug products in the US market. However, it is only the tip of the iceberg for pharmaceutical products  from the same manufacturer found tainted with amounts NDMA and NDEA that are not safe by the FDA’s standards.

The active ingredient in the recalled lot of losartan tested positive for NDEA.

NDEA is a suspected human and animal carcinogen. It was found within an ingredient that was made and supplied by the Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Company Co. Ltd. This same company supplied the tainted active ingredient used in the recalled lots of valsartan.

After the European Medicines Agency, (EMA), and then the FDA, confirmed the presence of NDMA and NDEA impurities in Valsartan, the FDA launched an investigation, including an inspection of the Zhejiang Huahai facility. They found traces of both NDEA and NDMA.

At the end of September, the FDA placed the Chinese company on an import alert, which means that any  active pharmaceutical products or finished products from the company would not enter the United States.

Valsartan is used in blood pressure medication and some vaccine products, among others.

The FDA is testing all ARBs- for NDEA and NDMA impurities and is keeping an ongoing list of recalled medicines and those that are not going to need to be recalled.

In August, 2018, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., and Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, released a statement on the FDA’s ongoing investigation into valsartan impurities and recalls.

They described what caused the impurity in the drugs, what the FDA is doing about it, and the risk assessment for patients who have been taking the tainted drug.

The scientists working for the FDA estimated that,  “if 8,000 people took the highest valsartan dose (320 mg) from NDMA-affected medicines daily for four years, (this is the amount of time they estimated the affected drugs were being marketed), there may be one additional case of cancer over the lifetimes of these 8,000 people beyond the average cancer rate among Americans.”

That estimate was based on the highest daily dose, however many people may have taken lower doses, and therefore their risks would be less.

FDA expects the actual cancer risk to most consumers to be lower than the estimate.

The losartan recall is for lot number JB8912. If you are taking losartan, you can check the lot number on the bottle and see if the numbers match.

If your drug is on the recall list, the FDA suggests that you continue to take it until you can get a replacement from a Doctor or Pharmacist.

Questions regarding this recall can be directed to Sandoz Inc. at 1-800-525-8747 Monday-Friday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (EST) or email usdrugsafety.operations@novartis.com.

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We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

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Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California

Product Recall: Fried Onions with Listeria and Salmonella

Product Recalls, Public Safety, ,

Possible Salmonella and Listeria Monocytogenes contamination is affecting multiple products and crossing State lines.

The reason for the recall was contaminated ingredients sold and shipped by McCain Foods. Initially, they identified the contamination in their onion ingredients.

First, “Out of an abundance of caution”,  Hy-Vee recalled the following products from all of its stores:

Hy-Vee Bacon Wrapped Cowgirl Chicken Grillers, Hy-Vee Fire Roasted Tomato, Spinach, Mozzarella Twice Baked PotatoHy-Vee Cowgirl Chicken Griller PattyHy-Vee Gourmet Steakhouse Mushroom & Swiss BurgerHy-Vee Ground Beef Sliders Mushroom & Swiss

The impacted products had a “Best If Used By” date of Oct. 22, 2018, or sooner

The instructions for customers who bought any of the recalled products was to avoid consuming them, throw them out, or return them to the local Hy-Vee store for a refund.

Questions about Hy-Vee recalled products will be addressed 24 hours a day with Hy-Vee Customer Care representatives at 1-800-772-4098.

The FDA has a full list of the Hy-Vee recalled products on their site.

Since then, the recall has spread to a dozen U.S. food manufacturers including Bakkavor Foods, Envolve Foods and Ruiz Food Products. The food makers notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture about products they shipped that could include ingredients such as corn, diced onions and other vegetables possibly tainted with bacteria – all provided from McCain Foods.

McCain Foods, which has headquarters in Canada and offices in Illinois, said they identified a potential health risk related to their fire roasted, caramelized, or sauteed frozen vegetable and fruit products that were produced at their Colton (California) facility.

Included in the recall:

Salads, wraps, burritos and pizza sold at Harris Teeter, Kroger, Whole Foods, 7-Eleven, Ralphs, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Simple Truth, and other major retailers.

The Fresh Market said they removed some pizza and pasta salad products and self-serve portions from the shelves of 161 stores in 22 states.

For a complete list of affected products, check the USDA’s current recalls site.

According to McCain Foods and the USDA, there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of any of the recalled products as of now.

Listeriosis is a food-borne infection caused by Listeria bacteria that is commonly found in water, soil, and feces. Humans are infected when they consume foods that harbor the bacteria.

The most common foods to cause listeriosis outbreaks are deli meats and unpasteurized dairy products. However, many other foods have also been found to spark outbreaks, including caramel apples, cantaloupe, and cabbages fertilized by sheep manure.

Adults who are healthy and have strong immune systems are less at risk of listeriosis. Pregnant women are more susceptible to infection and can pass the infection to the fetus or suffer complications or miscarriage. Other people who have an increased risk of Listeria infection are the elderly, children or people who are immuno-compromised.

Severe Listeria infections can cause gastroenteritis (“stomach flu”), bacteremia, sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia, osteomyelitis and endocarditis.

An estimated 1,600 people get Listeriosis each year in the U.S., and about 260 die from it, according to the CDC. 

Listeria and Salmonella infections usually resolve on their own without treatment. The best defense is prevention. Heat all foods that may be harboring bacteria.

There are also natural remedies that assist with the symptoms and with overcoming the infection that have been proven useful.

With proper rest, care and in the worst case, with treatment, This Too Shall Pass.

______

We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

MedWaste’s Product Store 

Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California

 

a sign declaring the national prescription drug take back day

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Is This Saturday, Oct. 27th of 2018!

Household Medical Waste, Hygiene And Infection Control, Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal, Prescription Drug & Medicine Disposal, Proper Waste Disposal, Public Safety, Removal Of Hazards

This Saturday, Oct. 27th of 2018, the DEA has organized a National Prescription Drug Take Back Day throughout the entire Country. This is one way of helping to deal with the opioid crisis that has been declared a national crisis recently.

MedWaste Management will provide continued coverage of take back event as well as other efforts being made to help with our opioid crisis.

The DEA and Google both provide locators to find your nearest prescription drug take back locations.

Check out The DEA and Google pages below. They contain tools and more info on the ever growing efforts to help people properly dispose of their unused prescription drugs. This is certainly part of the bigger plan to help end the opioid crisis.

DEA’s Prescription Drug Take Back Location Tool

Google’s Prescription Drug Take Back Location Tool

As President Trump signed legislation providing resources to help end our opioid crisis, representatives of companies pledging to help stood behind.

You can watch footage of the President with others discussing our opioid crisis and about the things that our Country is doing to stop it, including prescription drug take back events, and more responsible doctor prescribing.

Behind him stood representatives of companies pledging to help with the crisis. Representatives from Google, Walgreens and CVS were there, among others, promoting tools to help dispose of prescription drugs safely and securely. (22.00 minutes into the video)

We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

MedWaste’s Product Store 

Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California

Drug Take Back And Sharps Collection Day In Napa County

Healthy Living, Household Medical Waste, Medical Waste Disposal, Prescription Drug & Medicine Disposal, Public Safety

Drug Take Back And Sharps Collection Day In Napa County – Saturday, October 27, 2018, from 10am to 2pm, at numerous Napa County locations.

The Police Departments and Sherriff’s offices in Napa County, along with Kaiser Permanente and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will host unused medication and sharps (used syringes and needles) collection events on Saturday, October 27, 2018, from 10am – 2pm, at numerous locations around Napa County.

Residents in the area are encouraged to bring their unused or expired over-the-counter and prescription medications to one of six collection locations throughout Napa County. It is recommended that any personal information on medication containers be removed or blacked out before dropping off. Additionally, these one-day collection sites can legally accept federally-designated “controlled” substances that include many highly addictive prescription medications such as morphine and OxyContin, as well as illegal narcotics such as LSD and ecstasy.

Home generated medical sharps (needles, syringes, epinephrine auto-injectors, etc.) will be accepted for disposal at all of the October 27th sites as well. State law prohibits the disposal of home generated sharps in trash or recycling containers. Improper disposal of home generated sharps is a health and safety threat to children, home health care providers, trash & recycling workers, and pets through accidental needle stick injuries. Sharps that are not disposed of properly can also end up on beaches and riverbanks, waterways, parks and more. Ideally, sharps should only be transported in an approved container obtained from a physician or pharmacy. A tightly sealed, leak- and puncture-resistant container with a lid, such as a bleach bottle, coffee can, or other similar container, is an acceptable alternative for transportation of sharps to the event. These containers should be labeled as “sharps.”

These collection sites accept sharps and unused or expired over-the-counter and prescription medications, and “controlled” substances that include many highly addictive legal and illegal drugs.

“Many people don’t realize that flushing medications down the toilet or putting them down the drain can lead to water pollution and harmful effects on aquatic life,” said Stephanie Turnipseed, Pollution Prevention and Outreach Coordinator with the Napa Sanitation District. “Medication can pass right through the wastewater treatment process and enter our waterways, so the best thing to do is to bring your medicines to a take-back event or one of the year-round drop-off locations for safe disposal.”

In addition to the environmental impact of improperly disposed medications, prescription and over-the-counter drugs that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that the majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

This service is free and anonymous.

October 27th Medication And Sharps Collection Event Sites:

American Canyon Police Department

Address: 911 Donaldson Way E, American Canyon, CA 94503

Phone: (707) 551-0600

Napa County Sheriff’s Office

Address: 1535 Airport Blvd, Napa, CA 94558

Phone: (707) 253-4440

Kaiser Permanente Medical Offices – East Parking Lot

Address: 3285 Claremont Way, Napa, CA 94558
Phone: (707) 258-2500

 

Yountville Police Department

Address: 1950 Mulberry St, Yountville, CA 94599

Phone: (707) 944-9228

St. Helena Police Department

Address: 1480 Main St, St Helena, CA 94574

Phone: (707) 967-2850

 

Calistoga Police Department

Address: 1234 Washington St, Calistoga, CA 94515

Phone: (707) 942-2810

Can’t make the collection event on October 27th?

Those unable to take items to the event can dispose of unwanted pharmaceuticals (uncontrolled substances only) and home generated sharps year-round at the Napa-Vallejo Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility located at 889A Devlin Road, next to the Transfer Station in American Canyon. The facility is open every Friday and Saturday from 9am to 4pm.

For “uncontrolled” substances and sharps, there are several local year-round opportunities for safe and legal disposal, which can be found online at www.naparecycling.com/medicine.

Mail back services are available for your home generated sharps. Additional year-round options for residential medical sharps can be found online at www.naparecycling.com/medical-sharps-disposal or call the Napa County Department of Public Works for more sharps disposal information at 707-253-4094.

We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

MedWaste’s Product Store 

Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California

suspicious package illustration

Hazardous Mail

Public Safety, Regulatory Compliance

Hazards are Everywhere.

We already know this. They are in the air, in our house, in our trash… and  now, hazardous mail. We may be either receiving or sending hazardous mail on a regular basis.

Have you ever ordered bleach through a delivery service? Imagine if it spilled on the delivery guy.

When we think of a mailman having a bad day, we usually imagine an aggressive dog at one of the delivery addresses or a long block, heavy packages, and a heat wave. We don’t usually think of severe bodily injury and hospital stays.

But the Postal Service does.

The USPS spends $101 million annually to screen every piece of first-class mail sent or received by U.S. households and mail sent to federal addresses in Washington.

With tens of thousands of postal facilities to protect, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has responded to more than 52,000 calls about suspicious mail since 2001. Inspectors respond to about 10 calls daily. Most are false alarms.

The Postal Service now relies on both human checks and machine screenings to track suspicious mail. Shift supervisors receive regular updates on evolving threats. Postal Inspectors practice regularly with local law enforcement agencies in anticipation of an attack.

Employees are trained to be on the lookout for envelopes without a return address, an invalid Zip code, or weird or scribbled jargon.

Sharp objects protruding through boxes or dust or liquids leaking from envelopes is also a potential threat.

Questionable pieces of mail are supposed to be turned over to inspectors for further screening.

Hazardous, Resticted, Harmful:

To put it simply:

Some Things cannot be sent in the mail.

Those Things fall into one of the above categories: Hazardous/Harmful, Restricted, or Perishable/NonMailable Things.

If you need to send something that falls into the above categories, you need to label it properly. Ask for help to do this, because the labeling and shipping protocols are long and complicated.

If you send a Hazardous, Restricted, or Harmful Thing in the mail without following the correct protocol, you will be slapped with a very large penalty.

Hazardous Material:

A Hazardous Material is any article or substance designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation as being capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, or property during transportation.

In international commerce, hazardous materials are known as “Dangerous Goods.”

Every hazardous material is assigned to one of these nine hazard classes:

Class 1: Explosives.

Class 2: Gases.

Class 3: Flammable and Combustible Liquids.

Class 4: Flammable Solids.

Class 5: Oxidizing Substances, Organic Peroxides.

Class 6: Toxic Substances and Infectious Substances.

Class 7: Radioactive Materials.

Class 8: Corrosives.

Class 9: Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials.

Some of the nine hazard classes are further separated into divisions based on their physical or chemical properties. For postal purposes, Exhibit 331 summarizes the mailability of hazardous materials by hazard class.

In general, if it can kill or injure another person, it is Hazardous Mail. If it is likely to destroy, deface or otherwise damage the mail, postal equipment or other property, it is Harmful Mail.

Harmful matter includes, but is not limited to:

  1. All types and classes of poisons, such as caustic poisons (acids and alkalis), and oxidizers. Controlled substances are also included in this class.
  2. All poisonous animals, except scorpions mailed for medical research purposes or for the manufacture of anti-venom (or antivenin or antivenene); all poisonous insects; all poisonous reptiles; and all types of snakes, turtles, and spiders.
  3. All disease germs or scabs.
  4. All explosives, flammable material, infernal machines, and mechanical, chemical, or other devices or compositions that may ignite or explode. Highly flammable liquids, gases or solids, or any material that under conditions that take place during transportation can cause fire through friction, absorption of moisture, or spontaneous chemical changes or from retained heat from manufacturing or processing, including explosives or containers previously used for shipping high explosives with a liquid ingredient (such as dynamite), ammunition, fireworks, radioactive materials, matches, or articles emitting obnoxious odors.

Watch out for items that include these words on their description. There’s a strong likelihood you can’t just pop them in a box and stick them in the mail:

Acidic, Caustic, Combustible, Communicable, Corrsoive, Explosive, Flammabe, Compressed gas, Radioactive, Poison. Toxic, Infectious, Volatile.

The USPS and UPS have an updated list of items you can’t put in the regular mail on their websites.

Restricted Matter:

Restricted matter includes articles on which mailing restrictions have been imposed for reasons other than risk of harm to persons or property involved in moving the mail.

Motor vehicle master keys, abortive and contraceptive devices, odd-shaped items in envelopes, locksmithing devices and intoxicating liquors are examples of restricted items.

Perishable Matter:

Perishable matter is anything that can deteriorate in the mail and thereby lose value, create a health hazard, or cause an obnoxious odor, nuisance, or disturbance, under ordinary mailing conditions.

Examples of perishable matter include mailable types of live animals, food items, and plants.

The Postal Service provides these labels and tags for sticking on the outside of mail containing bees, live animals, or perishable matter:

  1. Label 27, Bee Ware!
  2. Label 28, Live Animals.
  3. Tag 9, Perishable — Do Not Delay.
  4. Label 127, Surface Transportation O

Perishable matter that is not restricted, (like cookies that can go stale) may be sent at your own risk as long as it is packaged properly and if it can possible be delivered within appropriate and reasonable time limits to prevent deterioration.

So probably you’ll have to forego sending that potato salad to China.

Acceptability for Mailing Hazardous Mail:

The USPS works with shippers wishing to mail various unconventional and even harmful substances. There is a protocol in place for mailing Hazardous, Harmful, Restricted and Perishable Materials.

Acceptability for mailing hazardous materials depends on many factors. A partial list of considerations would be: The container fluid/vapor capacities, the ability of the complete mail piece to contain the material, and the method of absorbing and containing the material in case of accidental leakage of the primary receptacle.

Normal conditions for transport should always be taken into consideration. All shippers who offer packages containing liquids, for example, must be trained to understand and apply the stringent standards for vibration, pressure and temperature because of the higher risk and possible dire consequences. This is especially critical when it comes to shipments by air.

To determine mailability of a specific material, a mailer must submit a material safety data sheet (MSDS) and the following information to the PCSC:

  1. Common and proper shipping name of the material, hazard class, and the assigned United Nations (UN) or North American (NA) identification number.
  2. Chemical composition by percentage of weight.
  3. Flashpoint.
  4. Toxic properties.
  5. Irritant action when inhaled, swallowed, or with contact to skin or eyes.
  6. Special precautions necessary to permit handling without harm to USPS employees or damage to property or other mail.
  7. Explanation of warning labels and shipping papers required by local, state, or federal regulations.
  8. Description of the proposed packaging method, including the addressing, required markings, and documentation.
  9. Volume of material per mailpiece, proposed number of pieces to be mailed, class of mail, and post office(s) of mailing.

The postal service will then determine if you can mail the Thing, in what kind of container, and which labels you would need to affix to it.

Full responsibility rests with the mailer to comply with all Postal Service and non–Postal Service laws and regulations in the mailing of hazardous material.

Anyone who mails, or causes to be mailed, a nonmailable or improperly packaged hazardous material can be subject to legal penalties.

Fines or Imprisonment.

Civil penalties are assessed for knowingly violating a hazardous material transportation law or a regulation, order, special permit, or approval issued under that law.

The following updated civil penalties apply to violations occurring on or after October 1, 2012:

The maximum civil penalty is increased from $55,000 to $75,000 for knowingly violating federal hazardous material transportation law.

The maximum civil penalty for knowingly violating laws and regulations that result in death, serious illness, severe injury to any person, or substantial destruction of property is increased from $110,000 to $175,000.

The $250 minimum civil penalty has been eliminated.

The civil penalty for violations related to training has reverted to $450.

When someone breaks the rules, it puts us all at risk. The consequences for doing so should be substantial enough to discourage misconduct.

(Quoted from PHMSA administrator Cynthia Quarterman)

Here’s an example of the fines you may have to pay:

Amazon improperly shipped a package containing flammable liquid adhesive by air via FedEx. FedEx employees discovered a gallon container of the adhesive that was leaking.

The adhesive is classified as a hazardous material under the DOT regulations.

Amazon sent the shipment without the requisite shipping papers or emergency response information. They did not mark, label or properly package the shipment. Obviously, they also failed to properly train their employees in preparing hazmat packages for shipment by air.

They were fined $91,000.

There have lately been other civil suits about improperly sent mail, with similar fines.

Just saying.

It’s all in the packaging, people. If you need to send something, make sure you know what container is considered appropriate and which labels need to be on there.

Hazardous Mail, Harmful Mail, Restricted Mail, and Perishable Mail, can all end up with you in jail or owing flamboyant fines to the Postal Service.

Although the Postal Service makes every effort to inform its customers about the mailability of harmful Things,  it is the responsibility of the mailer to fully meet all requirements prior to mailing. 

So, be responsible.

If the product you are shipping may pose a risk to life, limb or property, check to make sure how it can be made mailable. There are a lot of lists of all the stuff you can’t mail. Peruse them at your leisure.

___________

We are MedWaste Management – California’s medical waste disposal experts!

Established in 2008, MedWaste Management brings great benefit to the healthcare industry and the general public alike. We publish this blog to to spread useful and practical information to help people stay safe, smart and healthy!

Call us with any questions or to start service at (866) 254-5105. We are always happy to speak!

Check out our services and other great resources in the links below.

Medical Waste Disposal Services 

MedWaste’s Blog Index

Medical Waste Regulations

MedWaste’s Product Store 

Home Generated Medical Waste Drop-Off Points In California