X-Ray Film Recycling
Everything you need to know about disposing of x rays
X-Ray film Recycling is the best option if you are thinking about disposing of x-rays. These films can be highly contaminant if released into the environment because they contain a silver emulsion, which is a very reactive and flammable material.
Also, they often contain personal and medical information from the patients, and because of that are considered private health records. Therefore, it is illegal to toss X-Ray films into the trash or dispose of them in a landfill.
But there are many benefits of X-Ray Film Recycling. Here we review them.
Why you should be recycling X-Ray film.
- Get paid when recycling X-ray film. The silver the film contains is valuable and can be recovered with the recycling process. Depending on the pounds of film you have to recycle, the market price of the silver, and the type of film, you can get a good profit by entrusting your recycling to the right vendor. One of the most important things when choosing the right company to recycle your film is to make sure they are a direct refinery, that way, you will not be dealing with middlemen, and will make sure that you get the highest returns possible on your X-Ray Film. Working with a direct refiner will also help you be compliant with HIPAA and EPA requirements.
- Regulation compliance is another important reason to recycle. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires to destroy X-rays to protect patient privacy and avoid identity theft. Besides, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires to recycle them in ways that do not hurt the environment or create safety hazards.
- Environmental health. The silver mining process is very polluting, so it is important to recover the silver we already have to avoid contamination to go on. Besides, all the PET plastic remaining after the recycling process, and even the paper jackets of the x-rays, can be entirely recycled.
- Another benefit is the space you gain by getting rid of those outdated x-ray films. You can’t keep collecting those records forever because of the space problem. Solve this by cleaning out all of the x-rays you don’t need. Some companies will even do the purge for you.
Things to keep in mind when you are recycling X-Ray films.
There are a few things you need to know about the regulation before recycling X-Ray films.
The first thing to consider is the retaining periods according to the state. Most state laws indicate that X-rays of adult patients must be kept on file for seven years after the last date of treatment, the same period as all patient records. If the patient is a minor, the retention period is generally until the patient reaches the age of 25.
We recommend you to check the specific regulation of your state before disposing of X-Rays.
With that covered, you know how to select the X-rays you should be recycling. Now, you can go on to choose the recycling company. A few things to consider:
- The company must be HIPAA compliant to ensure that it will handle all confidential information about your patients properly. That also means that the films must be shred before initiating the process of silver extraction.
- It must also be EPA compliant to guarantee that the process of silver recovery is ecological and that all the remaining materials, PET plastic and paper jackets, are properly recycled.
- Make sure that they provide you with a Certificate of Destruction, so there is proof that they disposed of the films correctly.
- Choose a direct refinery, like Core Scientific, to maximize your returns.
- Make sure the direct refinery provides 100% transparency. We provide a customer portal where you can track and monitor our process.
