0102_INSP_20200310

FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

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UNIT TYPE:
Lined MSWLF LCID YW Transfer Compost SLAS COUNTY: Alamance
Closed MSWLF HHW White goods Incin X T&P FIRM PERMIT NO.: 01-02
CDLF Tire T&P / Collection Tire Monofill Industrial Landfill DEMO SDTF FILE TYPE: COMPLIANCE

Date of Site Inspection: March 10, 2020 Date of Last Inspection: May 17, 2018
FACILITY NAME AND ADDRESS:
Stericycle, Inc. Medical Waste Incinerator Facility 1168 Porter Avenue Haw River, NC 27258 GPS COORDINATES: Lat.: 36.06599 Long.: -79.34881 FACILITY CONTACT NAME AND PHONE NUMBER: Stericycle, Inc. Kirk Yarbrough, Plant Manager w. 336-578-8904 x 39 c. 336-380-7440 f. 336-578-8903
[e-mail] FACILITY CONTACT ADDRESS:
Stericycle, Inc. Don Nuss, Regional Environmental Manager – Atlantic Region 3614 Hoskins Court
Hamilton, OH 45011 c. 513-543-7073 [e-mail]

PARTICIPANTS: Chuck Kirchner, Environmental Senior Specialist – Solid Waste Section (SWS)
Lee Hill, Environmental Senior Specialist – SWS
Deb Aja – Western District Supervisor – SWS
Ming-Tai Chao, Environmental Engineer - SWS Don Nuss, Regional Environmental Manager - Atlantic Region – Stericycle, Inc. Kirk Yarbrough, Plant Manager – Stericycle, Inc.
Andrea Carden, Transportation – Stericycle, Inc. STATUS OF PERMIT:
Permit To Operate (PTO) issued February 17, 2017 PTO expiration date November 30, 2021 PURPOSE OF SITE VISIT: Comprehensive Inspection
FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

Page 2 of 5

STATUS OF PAST NOTED VIOLATIONS: None
OBSERVED VIOLATIONS:
None
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
On March 10, 2020, Chuck Kirchner, Lee Hill, Deb Aja and Ming Chao met with Don Nuss, Kirk Yarbrough and Andrea Carden to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the Stericycle, Inc. Medical Waste Incinerator Facility on Porter Avenue in Haw River, Alamance County.
1. The facility is a medical waste treatment operation consisting of two incinerator units.
2. Non-conforming medical waste received at this facility, that is not suitable for processing at this facility, is transferred from this facility to other Stericycle facilities that are able to accept that waste stream. 3. The office is open Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Facility operation/incineration occurs 24
hours a day, 7 days a week. 4. The facility permit, site plan, operations plan, and contingency plan were discussed. 5. The facility incinerates medical waste (regulated and non-regulated), United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - Plant Protection and Quarantine (APHIS-PPQ) regulated garbage, controlled substances, chemotherapeutic waste, healthcare industry documents, and pharmaceuticals. 6. During the inspection, both incinerators were in operation. 7. Mr. Yarbrough stated that Stericycle, Inc. vehicles transport ~ 100 percent of the material received. 8. The facility uses Road Net to track drivers dispatched on local routes from the Haw River facility. The
system uses GPS to obtain real-time information regarding route, driver status, truck location, etc. 9. Ms. Carden stated that all of the out of state trailers and customer loaded trailers are refrigerated. Local route trucks are commonly not refrigerated. 10. The facility provides training for plant personnel – annually, biennially, and as needed. Training categories include: bloodborne pathogens, emergency action plans, hazard communication, machine guarding, personal protective equipment, spill response, lockout/tagout control, confined space, waste acceptance protocol, incinerator operation, boiler operation, APHIS-PPQ waste, and dental waste management. Training for DOT hazardous materials and forklift operation is scheduled accordingly. Mr. Yarbrough stated that training is conducted by company personnel, on-line, and with the use of training modules. An employee training record and an incinerator operation refresher class roster were observed 11. During fiscal year 2018 - 2019, the facility accepted waste materials from numerous states.
12. The facility provides clients with boxes, totes, labels, and plastic bags to conform with packaging and transportation of regulated medical waste.

The item(s) listed above were observed by Section staff and require action on behalf of the facility in order to come into or maintain compliance with the Statutes, Rules, and/or other regulatory requirements applicable to this facility. Be advised that pursuant to N.C.G.S. 130A-22, an administrative penalty of up to $15,000 per day may be assessed for each violation of the Solid Waste Laws, Regulations, Conditions of a Permit, or Order under Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the N.C. General Statutes. Further, the facility and/or all responsible parties may also be subject to enforcement actions including penalties, injunction from operation of a solid waste management facility or a solid waste collection service and any such further relief as may be necessary to achieve compliance with the North Carolina Solid Waste Management Act and Rules.
FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

Page 3 of 5

13. Medical waste boxes observed had a label with generator and transporter/treatment facility information and a barcode containing the required information. The boxes contained the universal biohazard symbol and
medical waste statement. Box barcodes on client-loaded trailers (refrigerated trailers stored at businesses) are scanned upon incineration. Individual box barcode is scanned at pickup and upon incineration. Scanned information is sent to the facility database to include date received, number of boxes per generator, weight
of each box, date treated, generator billing, etc. The facility also maintains a hand-written log of when trailers are received at the facility and picked-up [medical waste transferred-out] from the facility. The current trailer log was observed this inspection. 14. The facility maintains records of the amount of solid waste received, origin of loads and disposition of ash. Throughput for January 1, 2020 through February 29, 2020 is 1,979.30 tons of material received. A total of 539.96 tons of ash were sent to the Upper Piedmont Regional landfill (73-04) during this timeframe. 15. The Facility Annual Report (FAR) was last submitted on July 08, 2019. Medical Waste incinerated at the facility from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 was 6,708.31 tons from in state and 4,047.93 tons from out of state (10,756.24 tons total). The amount of ash hauled to Upper Piedmont Regional Landfill (73-04) is 3,201 tons. 16. Facility throughput is ~1.7 million pounds per month which is up ~ .3 million lbs/month since last inspection.
The monthly throughput decreases during incinerator maintenance. 17. Dental and Mercury containing waste is shipped to another autoclave Stericycle facility (13-05) in Concord, NC.
18. Incinerator ash is stored on site in 20 yd3 roll-off containers. Mr. Yarbrough stated that one or two containers are filled with ash daily and hauled to the landfill. 19. During the inspection, three roll-off containers were in the dewatering area (one being filled and two empty).
An additional full tarped roll-off container was set aside awaiting results back from a recent TCLP analysis. 20. The facility routinely operates both incinerators. Scheduled maintenance is conducted for each incinerator approximately every other month. Incinerator maintenance records were observed for incinerator number 1 – February 16, 2020 and incinerator number 2 – January 20, 2020. 21. A major overhaul of the incinerators is scheduled to start in September of 2020. The incinerators will be overhauled one at a time and will be down for eight weeks each. Excess regulated solid waste streams will be shifted to other Stericycle facilities in Concord, NC or Baltimore, MD according to Mr. Nuss. 22. The facility has two floor scales and two belt scales. The scales were tested/calibrated by Carlton Scale on January 28, 2019 and July 18, 2019. 23. The facility has a Division of Air Quality (DAQ) Title V permit, number 05896/T25, issued 12/19/16 – expiration 11/30/21. Maximum charge rate for the incinerators is 1,870 lbs. per hour per incinerator. 24. The facility was inspected by the DAQ on April 9, 2019 and found in compliance at that time. 25. The incinerators are natural gas automatic feed dual chamber-controlled air Joy Energy Systems, Inc. T-Series units, model number 2500 TES.
26. As initially designed, the maximum charging rate for each incinerator is 1,911 lbs/hour. 27. The DAQ permit states that the maximum charging rate for each incinerator is 1,870 lbs/hour. 28. Facility has set the charge rate of each incinerator at 1,700 lbs/hour. 170 pounds of waste is loaded into each incinerator at the rate of 10x/hour to achieve this charge rate. 29. The facility maintains continuous monitoring records of the primary and secondary chamber temperatures. The primary chamber is required to be > 1200 °F and the secondary chamber > 1800 °F [for a minimum of > 1 second]. 30. During the inspection incinerator unit No. 1 was operating at 1756 °F in the primary chamber and 1917 °F in the secondary chamber and incinerator unit No. 2 was operating at 1856 °F in the primary chamber and 2003 °F in the secondary chamber.

FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

Page 4 of 5

31. Mr. Yarbrough stated that the incinerator reduces material in ~ 3 – 4 hours, is batch-fed ~ every 6 minutes, and the ash represents a 70 percent volume reduction. 32. The facility has an Industrial User Pretreatment Permit (IUP, No. 0030) from the City of Graham issued July 1, 2016 – expiration June 30, 2021. 33. Reusable containers are washed with a mycobactericidal disinfectant. The containers are washed on the floor
adjacent to the incinerators. Mr. Yarbrough stated that the process water is recycled in the incinerator ash water-quench process and any wastewater is routed to the municipal sewer/the City of Graham WWTP. 34. Vehicle trailers are cleaned with a pressure washer and mycobactericidal disinfectant in the truck wash bay,
when required. Floor drains for the truck wash bay are piped for reuse in the incinerator ash water-quench process. 35. Each incinerator is equipped with an ash removal process. Ash drops from the rear of the incinerator into a
water- quench tank. A mechanical arm rakes the ash from the quench tank dragging it up a dewatering ramp. The ash is deposited into a 2 yd3 container. Facility personnel sort-out large pieces of ash (2 - 4 times/hour), raking it into a 30-gallon cart. The sorted ash is re-incinerated. 36. The 2 yd3 containers of ash are dumped into 20 yd3 roll-off containers. The roll-off containers are dewatered on a covered cement slab. Floor drains for the dewatering process are piped for reuse in the incinerator ash water- quench process.
37. The facility takes two representative ash samples annually. Composite samples are gathered from a 20 yd3 roll-off container. The facility has a toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) for the eight RCRA metals [arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium, and silver], paint filter test, and pH analysis conducted. Records for the last sample taken on January 23, 2020 were observed. Samples were analyzed by Environmental Conservation (ENCO) Laboratories. The results indicate compliance.
38. The facility waste screening process consists of: generator requirements to properly package and label boxes, drivers trained to reject boxes if inaccurately packaged and/or labeled, client contract requirement to abide by waste acceptance rules, Stericycle, Inc. sales personnel educating clients, related information
available - printed and online, employee training regarding unacceptable waste, routine screening of ash, and the reburning of ash when applicable. 39. A contingency plan for the transport of regulated medical waste is maintained in each vehicle according to Mrs. Carden. 40. The universal biohazard symbol was displayed on trailers stored at the facility.
41. During the inspection, the facility had 3 refrigerated trailers on site containing medical waste. Two trailers were observed and one trailer was being checked in. Trailer 53197R was at 42 °F with a full tank of fuel and trailer 48020R was at 40 °F with a ¾ tank of fuel. Both trailers observed were properly labeled and secured. 42. Solid waste received pertaining to the medical waste transfer station, operated on the receiving floor of the facility, is sorted and loaded into a refrigerated transfer trailer. A transfer trailer of non-conforming waste is shipped-out to other Stericycle, Inc. facilities ~ twice a week. At the time of the inspection, no solid waste
boxes/totes were on the facility floor. Non-conforming waste holding area observed. 43. Ms. Carden verified transit time for three medical waste boxes that were on the receiving floor/processing line for the SWS. In addition, a trailer log for February 2020 was provided. Most trailers were processed in
2-5 days. A couple of trailers were noted on site for 8 days. All trailers observed were processed within regulation timeframes. 44. The facility has three back up facilities that can be used in the event waste is not able to be handled at this
facility. 45. No leaking containers were observed this inspection. 46. No putrescent odors were noted this inspection. 47. No exposed or improperly packaged waste was observed this inspection. 48. Orkin Commercial Services comes out on a monthly schedule to provide vector control.

FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

Page 5 of 5

49. Spill kits were observed around facility. 50. Access roads are of all-weather construction.
51. The facility is secured by a locked gate. 52. The facility sign was recently damaged by a truck. Replace facility sign per permit requirements as discussed in the field. 53. The facility permit number is posted on the gate. An intercom system is accessible. Personnel are at the facility 24 hours, 7 days a week. 54. The permit to operate (PTO) expiration date is November 30, 2021.
55. The PTO renewal application shall be submitted to the SWS by May 30, 2021.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding this inspection report. ________________________________________ Phone: [phone] _ Chuck Kirchner Environmental Senior Specialist Regional Representative

Sent on: March 16, 2020 X Email Hand delivery US Mail Certified No. [ _]

Copies: Deb Aja, Western District Supervisor - Solid Waste Section