The Healthcare Coalition for Emergency Preparedness sent a letter to the Department of Transportation outlining concern of "conflicting guidelines and regulations that do not meet international standards" regarding preparedness issues related to Ebola and transporting Ebola waste.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Ebola waste should be placed in the normal Regulated Medical Waste stream, which is below the standards set by the World Health Organization and the United Nations, as well as the DoT's regulations that were designed to comply with WHO standards, according to the letter.
HCEP urges DoT to not lower their safety standards to match the CDC's recommendations when transporting Ebola-tainted materials.
"We believe hospitals are doing their best to be prepared for infection control and emergency preparedness, but CDC waste guidance, which is weaker than WHO, UN and even your own DoT standards could leave Americans, especially frontline healthcare and waste workers, at increased risk," reads the letter.
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