An inspection at the Atlanta VA Medical Center revealed the hospital had over 1 ton of hazardous waste packed floor to ceiling in dangerous conditions, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The inspection found a portable building was packed with so much hazardous waste that inspectors could not enter it. Some of the waste was later designated "ignitable," which includes liquids that can catch fire at 140 degrees.
A hospital spokesperson said the facility set proper protocols and is hiring a long-term contractor "to assure environmental wastes are properly disposed of" in a timely manner.
Inspectors found six violations during unannounced visits May 30 and May 31 that were prompted by a complaint. The VA stored the hazardous waste in a 1,050-cubic-foot building on the ground floor of a parking deck.
Inspectors reported that they could not see the required labels on the containers saying they held hazardous waste or describing the materials. Only one of about 600 containers had a label showing the date it entered storage. The box, labeled "investigational chemo waste," indicated it had been there since August 2016.
Other containers had lead, solvents and other hazardous substances. The settlement agreement said the waste was shipped off site in June.
But health experts are concerned the disposal violations may signal a need for major changes at the hospital to ensure quality care.
The culture of the entire hospital may need to be reset, William Custer, PhD, director for Atlanta-based Georgia State University's Center for Health Services Research, told the AJC.
"If you don't have a good system for that, you're probably not providing good quality care," he said.
The six violations over more than a year cost the VA $13,600 in fines. They could have been punishable by up to $25,000 in fines per day.
The hospital must submit a written plan for managing the violations and document proper disposal in 90 days.