12 on Your Side Investigates: Unsafe medical waste dumped in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – We have a safety alert about some dangerous medical waste.

When a News 12 viewer found a pile of needles and even some vials of blood, he was worried kids in a nearby neighborhood might find it, too.

When he reached out to the News 12 on Your Side Investigators, we went to work.

We met him at the site just steps from the Pine College campus and in the heart of the Laney-Walker Neighborhood.

Nestled in the bushes, we saw a nest of needles and other used medical materials.

Vials of what looked like blood, syringes and IV tubing were tangled in a mound, posing potential dangers.

“Anthony” did not want us to show you his face, but he wanted to show you what he stumbles across while taking a shortcut to the store.

“I didn’t want no kid to walk up on it and get poked by it,” Anthony said.

When we expanded our search just beyond that pile, we found more than just needles and vials of blood. In a separate location, we discovered other medical debris, including X-rays and tattered parts of charts revealing personal patient information.

One document referenced treatment for back pain and included a patient’s name.

Used needles and biological materials like blood are considered biohazardous waste, capable of spreading infections such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Georgia law mandates strict procedures for safely disposing of such waste and even includes protections for animals.

We contacted the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office to report the discovery. Within minutes, two deputies arrived and began documenting and collecting the hazardous materials, wearing protective gloves and activating their body cameras for transparency.

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“There’s a lot here,” one deputy remarked. “We’ll collect as much as we can, and our narcotics office has a way of disposing of stuff like this.”

Deputies also accompanied us to the second nearby site, where additional needles and medical waste, including a nasal Narcan spray and what appeared to be a broken thermometer, were found in plain view.

Most of the shreds of medical documents we recovered appeared to be decades old, with some dated as far back as the late 1990s. The only identifier was a reference to a hospital in Barnwell that shut its doors in 2016.

Despite the medical records and vials of blood, deputies didn’t seem to think it was a traditional illegal dumping site. Instead, it may have been someone rifling through stolen medical supplies, possibly looking for drugs, and abandoning what they didn’t need.

Thanks to Anthony’s report and a rapid response from law enforcement, all the waste was carefully removed and properly disposed of.

“It’s just crazy how much there is,” one deputy said on body cam while collecting the final items.

Anthony said his conscience wouldn’t let him walk past the dangerous debris without taking action.

“I’m not gonna walk by it,” he said. “It’s just not right.”

What to do if you find medical waste

If you ever come across medical waste like syringes, vials, or medical records in a public area, don’t touch it. Contact local law enforcement immediately. Those agencies have the tools and training to handle and dispose of it safely.

As for the personal information we uncovered, News 12 is in the process of trying to reach those affected. The records appear to be old, and there were only a few, but like the rest of the materials, they’ve now been securely disposed of.

This story serves as a powerful reminder: One person speaking up can help protect an entire community.

If you see something dangerous, say something.

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