Pubdate: Sat, 12 May 2012
Source: Sault Star, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The Sault Star
Contact: http://www.saultstar.com/feedback1/LetterToEditor.aspx
Website: http://www.saultstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1071
Author: Elaine Della-Mattia

DANGER LURKS IN THE CITY

Needles, syringes and sharps tossed carelessly away by drug users or
others can be a hazard to anyone's health.

But Marty McCarthy wants to see the city work together to create an
emergency hotline number, posted in public parks and school yards,
that people can call to have the items removed and disposed of safely.

McCarthy was recently walking near the Gateway site and stumbled upon
an area filled with strewn needles and packaging.

It took him several phone calls and visits to reach the right place
before he was assured the needles would be removed.

McCarthy's attempts to notify the proper authority demonstrated to him
that there doesn't appear to be a single body in Sault Ste. Marie that
deals with the issue regularly.

"It is obvious we need a one-number phone call system that should be
instituted to report all syringes and sharps," he told The Sault Star.
"What if a child finds something in a school yard. Who do they turn to
to remove it safely?"

But a system is in place to handle safe needle disposal, said Jonathon
Bourma, director of infectious control at Algoma Public Health.

The city's public works and transportation department handle incidents
on city-owned or public property, while police are to be alerted about
needles found on private property. In the alternative, APH will take
the call.

"We don't want the public handling the needles themselves because we
need to ensure that they are picked out without anyone getting
pricked. We don't want to see anyone hurt," Bourma said.

The problem lies in the fact that there is no way of determining who
the needle user was and what, if any, infectious diseases he/she
carries. If pricked by a used needle, the individual could be
susceptible to an infectious disease.

In McCarthy's Gateway site case, the collection and disposal of the
needles was completed by a public works crew because the needles were
on city-owned property, but McCarthy thinks it would be safer for the
community if there was a single reporting system created to deal with
calls while citizens take on the role of being the eyes of the
community to keep all citizens safe.

Bouma said that APH and the Group Health Centre's downtown location
both have a needle exchange two days a week - on different days so
that four of the seven days of the week are covered - for all needle
users.

It's a "no questions asked" exchange where new needles can be obtained
and used ones discarded safely.

Needle disposal containers are also available at APH for IV drug users
or they can be purchased at local pharmacies, Bouma said.

Clients visiting APH also have the option of learning about available
drug programming or disease testing during the needle exchange, he
said.

Last year, APH alone exchanged more than 100,000 needles in the city,
he said.

Larry Girardi, commissioner of public works and traffic, said the city
department has workers who have received special treatment on how to
handle hypodermic needles when found on public property.

PWT should be called if hypodermic needles or syringes are found on
city property. Specially trained crews would be dispatched to pick up
the used needles, he said.

The needles are disposed of in containers and delivered to the
Hazardous Waste Depot where they are permanently disposed of.

Girardi said the recent pick-up near the Gateway site is believed to
have included unused needles that may have been stolen and just dumped
there.

"Our crews are not experts, but they said a lot of the needles looked
new and they could just been dumped there as one big stash," he said.

Girardi said areas of the Gateway site have been a nuisance to keep
people away from.

Staff are constantly repairing fencing and police have been alerted to
the issue and asked to be more vigilant on the area.

"We're examining ways now how to better protect the area and how to
keep people out," he said. "We keep doing repairs on the fencing but
it's just ripped down. When people want to get in, they will find a
way to get in. No fence will stop them."

Some thought has also been given to cutting down some trees and
reducing the brush in the area to make it more visible, he said.

Used hypodermic needles on public property are not
new.

Girardi said that a similar problem occurred in the James Street area
with the former cement flower beds.

Drug users would hide behind the structures and shoot up and then toss
the needles in the flower beds, making it dangerous for workers and
those passing by.

Bourma said the Gateway site situation is rare.

"We don't find thousands of needles lying around the city. We find
handfuls," he said. "We've set up a system to make an exchange
available to protect the public and users and we hope that users use
the process that was set out for them." 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D