WASHINGTON (AP) -- About 50 medical waste incinerators nationwide will have to reduce their air pollution under new regulations announced Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA said that the new rules, which require better monitoring and tighten emissions limits, will reduce toxic pollution from the burning of medical waste by 390,000 pounds annually and likely result in no new incinerators being built.
Medical incinerators burn biological waste, needles, plastic gloves, batteries and other items. The resulting emissions account for only a fraction of the country's air pollution, but it is a particularly toxic mix of heavy metals, acid gases and other contaminants.
The EPA estimates the cost to comply with the new regulations will be about $15.5 million per year.
The new standards settle a 1997 lawsuit brought by environmental groups that argued existing standards were too weak.
