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Revised: Mass. Department of Public
Health Regulation
105 CMR 480.00 Minimum Requirements for the
Management of Medical or Biological Waste
Effective
Date:
July 11, 2008
Who is
affected?
Generators of large and small medical and biological waste
and Sharps Collection Centers are affected at this time.
Home sharps will be further regulated effective July 1,
2010.
What types
of facilities are included?
Healthcare
facilities, hospitals, long-term care facilities, laboratories involved in basic and applied
research, laboratories intended for educational
instruction, clinical laboratories, physicians and dentist
offices, schools, sharps collection centers, veterinarians or research facilities
dealing with animal waste contaminated with specific diseases,
funeral homes, body piercing and body art facilities,
trauma scene responders, and home health agencies
providing services in private dwellings.
What types
of wastes are included?
-
Medical or biological waste defined as
blood and bloodlike products
-
Pathological waste
-
Cultures and stocks of infectious agents
and associated biologicals
-
Contaminated animal waste infected with
specific agents of diseases as listed in the regulation
-
Sharps
-
Biotechnology by-product effluents
How will
these facilities be affected?
Small-scale waste generators that generate less than 50
lbs. of medical or biological waste in 30 days and Sharps
Collection Centers will have:
-
Expanded
packaging, labeling, and shipping requirements for waste
to be transported for off-site disposal.
-
Expanded
specific storage requirements including signage,
security, segregation from other wastes, and physical
storage requirements.
-
Expanded
requirements for shipping documentation and an added
requirement to maintain waste logs including
documentation requirements for those that transport
their own waste.
-
An added
requirement for documented procedures describing as
applicable, waste identification, safe handling and
transportation of the waste within the facility,
confirmation of OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens training for
all individuals who may handle the waste, a description
of the storage area(s) and the duration of storage in
each storage area.
-
Expanded
record keeping and record retention requirements.
Waste
generators that generate more than 50 lbs. of medical or
biological waste in 30 days:
-
All of
the above requirements.
-
For
generators that pre-treat waste prior to shipping for
disposal, or perform in-house waste incineration; there
are specific requirements and approved methods of
disinfection to be performed. There are also written
procedure requirements, testing and recordkeeping
requirements associated with pre-treatment.
Home
Sharps:
-
Effective July 1, 2010, Home sharps shall not be
disposed of in solid municipal waste including household
waste.
-
The
regulation includes provisions for the establishment of
sharps collection centers and medical waste mail-back
programs.
To view
the complete regulation go to:
http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/regs/105cmr480.pdf
For questions about the
Medical or Biological Waste Management requirements,
contact Linda Swift at extension 119 or via email at
lswift@capaccio.com.
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