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What does doctors and veterinarians who has
outdated x-ray film has to do when would like to get rid of properly?
First, doctors should know the HIPAA Rule which
doctors has to follow, the rule says that doctors has to keep medical records
including x-ray film for at least 6 years, they can get rid of it on the 7th
year, for an example if today is Aug 2011, they can actually get rid of medical
records as of Aug 2005 which is the beginning of the 7th year.
On top of the rule says that is the doctor's
responsibility to get rid of the medical records in this case x-ray film
somewhere which will assure a total destruction of the records.
The HIPAA rule does not refer to the
environment side of the process, but this is why the EPA is here.
As described x-rays do contain silver and are
made out of plastic and it is prohibited to dispose of them in a landfill.
The other option is to use an
x ray film recycling company
which will pick-up the x-rays and recover the silver from it, the plastic should
also be disposed of properly.
Such company should obtain with an EPA ID and
must be certified by HIPAA, the company should be able to provide the owner of
the film with a certificate of destruction, also the company is able to pay the
owner of the x rays for the
silver recovery
process, the silver recovery for the x-rays is pretty complex and has to be done
in an earth friendly manor in order to avoid pollution.
How to
dispose of x-ray film properly
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