Medical waste found on P.E.I. property owned by group with ties to Buddhist community

The provincial government has investigated the discovery of a small amount of unsecured medical waste on a rural property in eastern Prince Edward Island.

The land is owned by Moonlight International Foundation, a non-profit with ties to the Buddhist community in the province.

The Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action said in a statement that the amount of waste would fit into a small garbage bag. Staff inspected the location near Murray River on Wednesday, and provincial representatives were contacting the property owner about having the waste cleaned up.

Photos obtained by CBC News via drone show what appears to be vials filled with blood, used testing strips and other medical waste products in a loose pile on the ground. Some of the material has writing in Chinese characters.

Cyndi Wang with the Moonlight International Foundation said in an email that the group learned about the medical waste through correspondence with CBC News.

"This is truly a regrettable situation — something that would deeply concern anyone who cares about protecting the environment," she wrote. "We're very sorry for the worry this may have caused."

Wang said the organization will now contact the appropriate department to locate the waste and make sure it's handled properly.

She said the Moonlight International Foundation aims to preserve the natural ecosystem of the land, and small portions of the property are being used to grow organic crops. 

"Our goal is to ensure a safe and healthy environment," she said.

"This year, we've invited two highly respected organizations in the field of ecological restoration — Tzu Xin Foundation from Taiwan and MacPhail Woods in P.E.I. — to help us make better use of our land."

Who is administering those tests.... How did the vials end up there and who is responsible?— Darlene Compton, Belfast–Murray River MLA

Belfast-Murray River MLA Darlene Compton, who represents the district in which the waste was found, said she's heard concerns from several residents in the area. 

Compton said a report was originally made about the waste in late May, but the person sent the information to a COVID-era email account that was no longer being monitored.  

On June 30, the Department of Environment told CBC News it had not received a complaint.

On July 7, however, a provincial official told CBC News the department had since received the complaint. Investigators visited the site on July 9.

Compton said that after the material is cleaned up, she'll have more questions about what happened. 

"There are a number of questions, and I'll work with the public health office to try and get some answers and to move forward from there," she said. 

"My biggest concern is the fact that they were disposed of in such a way, but also, who is administering those tests.... How did the vials end up there and who is responsible?" 

'Could be a very serious situation'

P.E.I. Green Party Leader Matt MacFarlane also received an email from the person who spotted the waste. He said he worried about the medical waste being out in the open.

"All in plain view, all accessible to anyone or any animal that might come along that could get into that pile and distribute it around…. It's very concerning," said MacFarlane.

"It might be on private property, but this is not a proper disposal of what could be a serious situation."

MacFarlane is hoping the government is able to investigate who put the medical waste there and how, as well as who drew the samples of what appears to be blood.

"There's regulations in this province around who can take blood and you know, were the people involved in this blood sampling authorized under our regulations to do that? Are there more piles of it around?" he asked.

Medical waste in the open

A concerned citizen spotted the medical waste on the property and emailed the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action at the end of May.

Under P.E.I.'s Environmental Protection Act's waste resource management regulations, no person can dispose of special waste, which includes medical waste, except at an appropriate landfill or composting facility that's approved to accept the material.

The Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action said most organizations that deal with medical waste make arrangements for certified companies to pick it up or have contracts with waste companies to take the material to P.E.I. Energy Systems or the East Prince Waste Management facility.

A special permit is required to allow the materials to go to those facilities.

On Friday afternoon, Wang told CBC News via email that she had been contacted by the province, which provided her with contact information for a licensed medical waste disposal company.

"We've already contacted the company, and they will take care of the cleanup as soon as possible," she said.