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For Release Friday,
15th March, 2002 |
CONTACT:
Bill Parizek |
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PHONE:850-245-4111
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Tallahassee – Department of Health (DOH) officials remind people giving themselves injections at home in the treatment of an allergy, acute illness, or chronic disease such as diabetes to properly dispose of used
needles. Improperly discarded needles and lancets, called “sharps,” pose a risk of injury or exposure to infectious disease for sanitation workers, landfill operators, and children playing near curbside waste containers.
There are currently 27 counties in Florida whose county health departments or local county governments offer free or low-cost sharps collection programs. If such a program does not exist in your county, DOH’s Bureau of Facility Programs can send you a free brochure, available in English and Spanish, entitled “Safe Disposal of Sharps at Home.”
To find out if a sharps collection program is available in your county, or for a copy of the brochure, please call (850) 245-4277 or visit
www.doh.state.fl.us
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