Investigation: Was Human Medical Waste Trashed?

A dumpster outside the Audubon Surgery Center in Colorado Springs is now the center of an investigation. Allegations are now surfacing that there's possibly human medical waste inside.

There are claims that workers were throwing away needles, even human tissue in the trash dumpster.

11 News spoke with someone connected to the surgery center. She didn’t want her identity revealed, but says she saw first-hand nurses and scrub technicians throwing away human tissue after surgeries in a dumpster.

“On some days, when there was a heavy case load, we’d have seven to 10 patients. That means there were 14-20 tonsils in the trash. Hernia surgeries… the sack that there in would go there, too,” said the source.

The woman said human medical waste belongs in a bio-hazard container, but it can be expensive to dispose of that. “It was told to me that this is how the company saves money."

We have no way of knowing what was being put into those dumpsters Monday night because the law doesn't allow us to check what's in the trash on private property. Tuesday afternoon, 11 News confirmed with OSHA, Occupational Safety Health Administration, that they are looking into the claims.

In response to the allegations Dr. J. Michael Hall, Medical Direction for the Audubon Surgery Center released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

"Audubon Surgery Center received a letter from OSHA advising that it had been notified of allegations of safety and/or health hazards pertaining to employees at Audubon Surgery Center. OSHA has asked us to investigate these allegations and respond in writing but has no plans at this time to conduct a site inspection or other investigation of its own. OSHA has not issued a citation or proposed a penalty of any kind against Audubon Surgery Center, and, we expect that once we submit our response, the matter will be put to rest. Audubon Surgery Center follows policies and procedures for employee safety that are set by national standards. The safety of our employees is a priority and we are certain that our guidelines comply with all applicable standards set throughout the health-care industry.”

This is the same Audubon Surgery Center where a scrub technician allegedly may have exposed patients to Hepatitis C. Kristin Parker, who worked at the center from May until June is now facing numerous federal charges in that case. The Audubon Surgery Center was already at the center of a Hepatitis C scare.