Seventeen years ago, David Henritzy and Dr. Randy Nolf, both lifelong residents of Carbon County, founded a company they called Bio-Haz Solutions Inc.

"We started with zero customers, zero employees," said Henritzy. "We started from scratch."The firm has become a success, and is currently the second largest such company in Pennsylvania. Presently it employs 15 people, has its own fleet of trucks, retains specialized equipment, and serves about 4,000 customers. It's main headquarters is a neatly maintained office building along Seneca Road in Mahoning Township, with a second office in Jacksonville, Fla.Henritzy said what the firm does is pick up medical waste in special, leak-proof containers and bags from a variety of sources including doctor's offices, funeral homes, hospitals, veterinarian offices, and dentist offices. It transports the items to licensed processing facilities, with the closest being in Pittsburgh.In 2001, Henritzy purchased Dr. Nolf's share of the business. Now Henritzy, who is presently leasing his corporate space in Mahoning, is looking to relocate and expand."We want to stay in Carbon County," said Henritzy, adding he would like additional jobs created to remain local.He said one location he's looking at is a building in Nesquehoning, near the former Tonolli site, which is owned by the Kovatch Corporation.At the Nesquehoning site, Henritzy said he would like to add an on-site sterilizing process, called Autoclave, which uses a high pressure saturated steam process to decontaminate medical wastes - excluding sharp items such as needles and razor blades - so they can be placed into a regular landfill.Everything would occur inside the building, stressed Henritzy, adding that no pollution - litter, water, or air - would be created.He said the Lehigh Valley Hospital presently has such an on-site facility for its own use. In emphasizing the safety of such a site, he mentioned the hospital Autoclave site is located in close proximity to an operating room and offices. He said his Autoclave site would be operated similar to Lehigh Valley Hospital's.He explained the firm will use only box trucks and not tractor-trailers for hauling, so truck traffic won't be a problem. The facility will operate only from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays."There are no night operations and there are no weekend operations," he said.The proposal was already presented to the Nesquehoning Planning Commission with a few recommendations made.The next step is to apply for special use approval from the borough's Zoning Hearing Board.He said all operations come under the jurisdiction of permits issued by the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.Bio-Haz Solutions Inc. has licenses to handle medical waste from Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida.According to Henritzy, any waste picked up must be destroyed within three days, meaning there won't be an accumulation of medical waste on the Nesquehoning premises if the project becomes reality.Henritzy said he owns other property in Mahoning Township, but can't locate his business there because there is no sewage, no water, and no three-phase electricity, all requirements for the process.He noted that he is hoping to be operational at the Nesquehoning site in March.A requirement, he said, "is we must keep a very clean environment."All vehicles and operational locations have a spill contingency plan, he explained. Every truck has a kit which contains such items as masks, brooms, Clorox, water, towels, etc.Drivers receive special in-service programs on handling the waste and handling potential emergency situations.Every pick-up is detailed on manifests so they can be tracked.Henritzy is a graduate of Lehighton Area High School and Kutztown University."I've lived here all my life," he said. "I want to do positive things. It will create jobs. It is a clean operation. Our purpose is to try to educate the people to our company."