Stericycle no longer plans to build a medical waste incinerator in North Las Vegas, Waste Dive reported Dec. 19.
Stericycle, a medical waste company based in Lake Forest, Ill., with facilities across the country, reportedly planned to build an incinerator in North Las Vegas to replace a facility that closed near Salt Lake City. It would have taken medical waste from throughout the West and stored the ash on its site.
However, concerns over health and environmental risks jeopardized the project, according to Waste Dive.
"Incinerators in general, and medical waste incinerators in particular, are well-documented public health hazards," Brian Moench, MD, and president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, told Waste Dive.
Jennifer Koenig, vice president for corporate communications at Stericycle, told Waste Dive the project was canceled because of "broader business considerations and facility planning."
It is unclear where medical waste in the region will now be sent, according to Waste Dive.
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