Pubdate: Fri, 17 May 2002
Source: News-Times, The (CT)
Copyright: 2002 The News-Times
Contact:  http://www.newstimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/637

SANTA CRUZ APPROVES NEEDLE DISPOSAL BOXES IN PUBLIC BATHROOMS

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) -- The city has decided to install needle disposal 
boxes in a dozen public restrooms to promote safety after several city 
employees were pricked by dirty needles.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to install the padlocked steel 
boxes at popular sites such as the beach and wharf areas. The syringes will 
be picked up by workers from the Santa Cruz Needle Exchange and taken to 
the county, where they will be sterilized and destroyed at a licensed facility.

"This means people understand it's a public health issue and nothing more," 
said Heather Edney, executive director of the Needle Exchange. "It's not 
about morality. It's not about whether people should or should not use drugs."

Santa Cruz is among only a handful of places nationwide that rely on 
bathroom boxes to protect workers from getting pricked. Rhode Island has a 
state program, several Nevada casinos use them and they are installed at 
airports in San Francisco, Minneapolis and San Jose.

But some argue the needle boxes will send a bad message to visitors and 
families.

"Would it make you comfortable to send your kid into a public bathroom at 
the beach?" said John Robinson, spokesman for the Seaside Co., which owns 
the popular Santa Cruz Boardwalk. "This is about making the city 
comfortable for drug addicts, not about making a clean and healthy city."

Supporters say the drop boxes will not only be used by addicts. Syringes 
also are used for a variety of prescribed medications, including insulin 
for diabetes. Some vitamins also are injected.

Syringes have been found stuffed in garbage cans and in toilets in Santa 
Cruz. Seven city employees have been stuck by improperly disposed needles 
since 1997, but the city said no infections occurred as a result.
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MAP posted-by: Jackl