Linton may be one of only two places in North Dakota where medical waste such as dressings and needles used in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes can be sterilized for landfill disposal.

The State Health Department is taking public comment through Tuesday on a draft permit to allow Northland Environmental Services to steam sterilize as many as 50 tons of medical waste every month for disposal.

Now, the only other option is an incineration service in Fargo, and fuel costs are starting to add up.

The applicant is a subsidiary of Northland Healthcare Alliance of Bismarck, which transports medical waste for about 25 facilities, mainly to Fargo, or to Minnesota.

Chief executive officer Tim Cox said Linton will give health care providers a local option and prevent them from being held hostage to fuel surcharges and other rising costs.

Cox also said the steam autoclave is the process of preference around the country and is more environmentally friendly than incineration.

It works in a boiler-like container that creates a vacuum before injecting 275-degree steam into the waste.

Cox said Linton is a central location and the community's developers were interested in bringing the business to town. He said the facility, in a building two miles outside of Linton, is nearly ready to go and awaits a permit.

One of the users will be the Linton Hospital and administrator Roger Unger said he expects to save a little money by using the local facility, but disposal isn't a big part of his relatively small budget.

"For us, even $500 is significant," he said.

Unger said a trained sanitary engineer will run the waste disposal facility.

A public meeting was held Thursday in Linton to explain the process; Unger said some people understand it and some have more of an "oh, my gosh," reaction.

He said medical waste such as pads, bits of human tissue and intravenous tubing is doubled bagged and boxed at the hospital or clinic even before it's shipped for sterilization and disposal.

Cox said he suspects most people in Linton "won't even know (the facility) is around," once it's in operation.

The compacted sterilized waste will go into a regulated solid waste landfill, likely in Pierre, S.D., because that state doesn't require grinding up of used needles. Otherwise, the compacted waste could go to the Wishek landfill.

Curt Erickson, hazardous waste manager for the State Health Department, said the department issued a draft permit to Northland after determining its application meets state requirements.

It'll be inspected periodically and he concurs: "After it's up and running, even locals tend to forget they're there."

He said besides medical waste, such as bandages and pads, the draft permit allows sterilization of some lab cultures and pathological waste. It does not allow disposal of any lab animals, radiological or chemotherapy products or hazardous materials, he said.

Cox said there isn't a lot of profit in starting up a facility like Linton, but it is a way for medical providers to save money over the long term.

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@westriv.com.)