Clean Harbors Accepts H1N1 Vaccine for Disposal
CDC requires hazardous waste handling and disposal
NORWELL, MA - July 20, 2010 - Clean Harbors, the leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services throughout North America, today announced that it is offering H1N1 Vaccination Incineration Services that will profile, collect and dispose of H1N1 vaccines. This service helps healthcare providers, including hospitals, clinics, urgent care providers and physicians, dispose of multiple dose units that contain mercury-based Thimerosal, which require certified destruction by hazardous waste incineration. Clean Harbors will also remove and dispose of single-dose H1N1 vaccines.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) mandates proper disposal of all H1N1 vaccines. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires the proper disposal by hazardous waste incineration for the multiple dose vaccines that contain the Thimerosal preservative. The CDC allows Public Health Emergency Response (PHER) funds to be available for this purpose. Vaccine destruction is a pressing matter since H1N1 vaccine inventories have a shelf life of 18 to 24 months and multi-dose units dated at the end of 2008 and early 2009 now require certified disposal by incineration.
One-Stop H1N1 Vaccine Disposal
Clean Harbors manages the entire process, from profiling the vaccine through an online process, to on-site packaging, removal and disposal of the materials in company-owned incinerators. Clean Harbors' approach simplifies the process, eliminates the need for separate transportation and disposal service vendors and meets healthcare providers' cradle-to-grave responsibilities by providing all tracking documentation and certificates of disposal.
The service is available to current Clean Harbors' customers and to new accounts. Explained Clean Harbors Vice President, Healthcare, John Kelsey, "We encourage healthcare providers to get in touch with us. Many are eligible for preferred pricing for H1N1 vaccine disposal under group purchasing agreements through existing contracts with Clean Harbors. Every organization will benefit from the assurance that the vaccines are certifiably disposed of according to requirements. Many of our customers are asking us to manage their vaccines for disposal since they cannot be managed through Reverse Distribution."
Interested healthcare providers may call 888.304.7035, email healthcareservices@cleanharbors.com or visit www.cleanharbors.com/healthcare.
Other Waste Services
Clean Harbors can ship other materials including solvents, lab packs, universal waste, and other pharmaceutical waste on the same truck carrying H1N1 vaccines. Customers benefit by consolidating their waste disposal with one supplier and eliminate the costs incurred by using multiple vendors.
About Clean Harbors
Clean Harbors is North America's leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services serving over 50,000 customers, including a majority of the Fortune 500 companies, thousands of smaller private entities and numerous federal, state, provincial and local governmental agencies. Headquartered in Norwell, Massachusetts, Clean Harbors has more than 175 locations, including over 50 waste management facilities throughout North America in 36 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The Company also operates international locations in Bulgaria, China, Sweden, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.cleanharbors.com
Contacts:
David N. Proud
Vice President, Marketing
Clean Harbors
781.792.5490
proudd@cleanharbors.com
Sandy McLaughlin
Soucy Communications Group
781.898.7305
smclaughlin@scg-pr.com
