to work. Some manufacturers claim that their products need only 2
minutes to do the job, but reports call that into question, suggesting
that some solidifiers can take up to 10 minutes to solidify completely.
You may even find yourself still dealing with some dangerous liq-
uids, because solidifiers sometimes fail to fully solidify canisters that
are filled to the brim (some facilities find upon investigation that
staff are pouring more than one package of solidifying agent into
each container because they feel that one package doesn't do the
job). And of course there are significant environmental implications
— not only with the solidifying agents themselves, which may con-
tain powdered chlorine and powdered glutaraldehyde — but also
with the disposal of the canisters, which become part of the regulat-
ed medical waste stream. If the waste goes into a landfill, the plastic
takes hundreds of years to break down and
may leave environmental toxins behind. If it's
incinerated, some of the petrochemicals used
in the plastics have the potential to create and
release dioxins, which are very potent car-
cinogens.
Quick ROI?
Fortunately, our municipal water systems are
designed to deal with biological hazards,
which makes the direct-to-drain alternative
that much more attractive. Still, it's important
to do due diligence and check with state and
local authorities. Some locales may not allow
direct-to-drain disposal, in which case you'd
have to dispose of waste offsite. (In those
Thinking of Buying …
TB
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