Discarded medical records were found earlier this week unsecured and accessible by the public at a county landfill facility.

The records, complete with names, addresses, and family histories, were discovered by a man dumping bulk trash at the Pinellas County Solid Waste facility at 3095 114th Avenue North in St. Petersburg. They apparently came from the office of a now-retired doctor whose practice, Doctor's Urgent Care Walk-In Clinic in St. Petersburg, closed a year ago.

For Odalys Avil, whose medical records were among those found at the landfill, the discovery was shocking.

“It has medical information, has history about my family and honestly, I'm horrified,” said Avil. "I think there should be a law that's against medical companies or doctors just throwing out information without it being shred."

According to the Florida Department of Health, medical facilities are required to hold on to medical records for 10 years. But the agency could not find any regulations on how records are supposed to be disposed of after that.

County officials say it’s not uncommon, but still unusual for these kinds of documents to show up at the landfill. Pinellas County Solid Waste - Landfill and Recycling director Kelsi Oswald offered advice for residents concerned about discarding records containing sensitive information.

“I would first recommend to try to find a community shredding event," said Oswald, "or if you have a shredder, shred those records. Take the shredded paper, bag it, and you can bring it out here.”