Transportation & Disposal Fact Sheet - Clean Harbors

Waste Review NewsAugust 2007 • Volume 1 • Issue 3these rules, please email any member of the HighHaz Review Group.OPPORTUNITYIf you are strong in Chemistry and are interested incontributing to the safety of our waste acceptanceprocess, please contact Scott Sylvester at (803) 691-3461 about joining the High Haz Review Group.Medical Waste ManagementRegulated medical waste, also known as ‘bio-hazardous’waste or ‘infectious’ waste, are materials that may becontaminated by blood, body fluids or other potentiallyinfectious materials, thus posing a significant risk oftransmitting infection.Although there is no universally accepted definition formedical waste, the definitions offered by most regulatoryagencies are similar and include:• Regulated medical waste• Infectious waste• Biomedical wasteThese waste streams are commonly regulated by statesand can be broken down further into the following subcategories:• Pathological waste: Tissues, organs, bodyparts, and body fluids removed during surgeryand autopsy.• Human blood and blood products: Waste blood,serum, plasma and blood products.• Cultures and stocks of infectious agents:Microbiological waste, culture dishes anddevices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix.Also includes discarded live and attenuated(weakened) vaccines.• Contaminated sharps: Contaminatedhypodermic needles, syringes, scalpel bladesand even broken glass.• Contaminated animal carcasses, body parts andbedding: From animals intentionally exposed topathogens in researchClean Harbors’ ability to manage infectious waste isimpacted by OSHA, the Department of Transportation,State Regulations and individual facility permits.OSHA.The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety &Health Administration regulates several aspects ofmedical waste, specifically occupational exposure toblood borne pathogens. The OSHA Standard onbloodborne pathogens is 29 CFR 1910.1450 and can befound on www.osha.gov. For details on our own Healthand Safety policy on protecting our employees, go to ourwebsite under the Health and Safety tab on theEmployee Portal.DOTRegulated medical waste is defined by the Departmentof Transportation as a hazardous material. The DOTrules apply to transporters of these waste materials.• Regulated medical waste, 6.2, UN3291, PG II• Infectious substances, affecting animalsonly, 6.2, UN2900• Infectious substances, affecting humans, 6.2,UN2814Note: A Division 6.2 (infectious substance) material thatalso meets the definition of another hazard class ordivision, other than Class 7, or that also is a limitedquantity Class 7 material, shall be classed as Division6.2. Also, the hazardous materials table indicates thatthe infectious substance shipping name specify thehazardous constituents as part of the shipping name.For information on specific state transportation permitrequirements for transporting these materials, contactTony Cellucci, Director Transportation Complianceat 781-792-5760, or anyone in TransportationCompliance.Facility Treatment Permits and State DefinitionsCHES can dispose of medical waste at our Deer Park,Texas, and Aragonite, Utah, facilities when packagedaccording to the CHES Medical Waste Guidelines.For Internal Company Use Only – Not for External Distribution Page 2 of 3

Waste Review NewsAugust 2007 • Volume 1 • Issue 3These guidelines can be found in the Support Center onthe Employee Portal on our website. Specific definitionsfrom these states are below.• Texas DefinitionTexas 'medical' wastes have an incredibly broaddefinition. Texas looks at anything with humanor animal derived compounds as regulatedmedical waste. This includes but is not limitedto proteins, and serums used in pharmaceuticalpreparations or diagnostic reagents. Even ifcertified non-infectious, it is then considered“treated” medical waste and must still bemanaged under the same requirements.• Utah Definition“Infectious waste” is defined by Utah statute as:“a solid waste that contains or may reasonablybe expected to contain pathogens of sufficientvirulence and quantity that exposure to thewaste by a susceptible host could result in aninfectious disease”. This waste includes suchmaterials as used sharps (needles, syringes,blades, pipettes, broken glass and blood vials),body fluids or materials mixed with body fluids,bandages, or other materials that have come incontact with body fluids.disposal.The following Eastern CHES facilities can receiveinfectious waste for transfer only:• Braintree, MA- includes mixed RCRA/Medicalwaste and non-RCRA medical waste.• Spring Grove, OH- mixed RCRA/Medical wasteonly.California Facilities – where medical waste is definedas hazardous waste and is subject to regulation asspecified in the statutes and regulations applicable tohazardous waste.• San Jose, CA- includes mixed RCRA/Medicalwaste and non-RCRA medical waste.• Wilmington, CA- only mixed RCRA/MedicalwasteFor more information, contact Jay Nolan, Manager,Central Profiling, at 781-792-5410.In addition to shipping medical waste to these twoincineration facilities, our El Dorado, AR incineratorcan accept these materials if they have beendisinfected prior to shipment.• Arkansas Definition“Medical waste” in Arkansas is defined as wastefrom a generator or health care related facility,which if improperly treated, handled, or disposedof may serve to transmit an infectious disease,and which may include pathological waste, liquidor semi-liquid blood, contaminated items(dressings, bandages, gauze, sponged, etc.),microbiological waste, and contaminated sharps.Again, our El Dorado facility can accept onlydisinfected “Medical waste” for storage orFor Internal Company Use Only – Not for External Distribution Page 3 of 3