'A double problem': Needle exchanges fight disease, but stray syringes raise alarm

SALT LAKE CITY — The success of Utah's needle exchanges comes at a price.The programs approved by the Legislature last year help prevent hepatitis C and HIV for users of heroin and prescription opioids. But the dirty needles are turning up in public places as the Utah programs distribute 16,000 free, clean syringes each week, mostly in the Rio Grande area, health officials say."It creates a double problem," said Heather Bush, syringe exchange coordinator for the Utah Department of Health,