DHEC doesn’t know about SC medical waste shipment

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina health officials say they haven’t been notified about a shipment of medical waste that a Latin American news website reported was on its way to Charleston.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control told The Post and Courier of Charleston (http://bit.ly/xJX2y3 ) that state law requires it be notified when waste enters the Charleston port.

The questions surfaced after Fox News Latino and The Latin American Herald Tribune reported the 47 tons of hospital waste was going to be improperly dumped in Brazil, so officials sent it back to South Carolina where it originated.

State Ports Authority officials referred questions about the possible shipment to federal customs officials, who told the newspaper they had not been cleared to talk about it.

___

Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com