Mo. Rev. Stat. § 260.203 — MO Code / Chapter 260 / Section 260.203
260.203 Infectious waste, treatment of — hospitals, department of health and senior ...
Status: in_force

260.203. Infectious waste, treatment of — hospitals, department of health and senior services to promulgate rules — transportation of — registration of hospitals — proper disposal, penalty — fee on delivery, exceptions — inspection fee, amount, fund, refund of, when. — 1. Any infectious waste transferred from the premises of the generator shall be taken to an infectious waste processing facility that holds a valid permit issued by the department, or a hospital as defined in section 197.020 .

2. No infectious waste shall be placed into a solid waste disposal area except as otherwise provided for in sections 260.200 to 260.245 unless it has been treated or rendered innocuous by a permitted infectious waste processing facility as provided in sections 260.200 to 260.245 , or by a hospital as defined in section 197.020 , by autoclaving, incineration, chemical disinfection, or other methods of treatment approved by the department. The department of health and senior services shall promulgate rules covering the handling and treatment of infectious waste by hospitals as defined in section 197.020 and such rules shall be consistent with the rules of the department under sections 260.200 to 260.245 , and shall be effective no later than January 1, 1989.

3. All such wastes, when transported off the premises of the generator shall be packaged and transported as provided by rule under sections 260.200 to 260.245 , except that hospitals and small quantity generators as defined by the department under this section may transport infectious waste to a hospital for treatment, an infectious waste processing facility for treatment or to a central collection point using their employees and vehicles as long as they meet all other requirements of sections 260.200 to 260.245 and the rules and regulations promulgated under sections 260.200 to 260.245 .

4. The department of health and senior services shall provide for a registration process for all hospitals pursuant to the provisions of sections 260.200 to 260.245 and section 192.005 . The process shall include a completed and signed application on forms provided by the department of health and senior services. The forms shall contain the following:

(1) A statement certifying that the applicant understands and will comply with the applicable requirements of sections 260.200 to 260.245 ; and

(2) Other requirements established by the department of health and senior services.

5. Registrations shall be renewed annually.

6. Unless otherwise provided for in sections 260.200 to 260.245 , any person who treats infectious waste to the specifications of the department of natural resources or the department of health and senior services, and who proposes to dispose of the residue thereof in a sanitary landfill shall properly identify the waste and shall certify to the transporter and the sanitary landfill operator that the waste has been rendered innocuous and may be legally placed in a sanitary landfill pursuant to the provisions of this section. Persons found to be in violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

7. Facilities permitted to treat infectious waste shall adhere to an operation plan for the handling and treatment of infectious waste approved by the department of natural resources as provided by rule, and hospitals, as defined in section 197.020 , allowed to treat infectious waste shall adhere to an operation plan for the handling and treatment of infectious waste approved by the department of health and senior services as provided by rule. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, methods of handling and treating the waste, protection of employees and the public and the maximum amount of waste which may be handled per month. Approval for acceptance of infectious waste may be withdrawn for noncompliance with the operation plan. No permitted infectious waste treatment facility shall operate unless it has a solid waste technician trained in the handling of infectious waste on site during any treatment process. Such operator shall meet the requirements established by the department pursuant to section 260.205 .

8. Any transporter or generator who delivers infectious waste to an infectious waste processing facility, except small quantity generators and hospitals located in Missouri and defined in section 197.020 , shall pay a fee of two dollars for each ton of infectious waste so delivered. Such fees shall be collected by the infectious waste processing facility accepting the waste and transmitted to the department. The department shall promptly transmit funds collected under this section to the director of the department of revenue for deposit in the solid waste management fund. Moneys, upon appropriation, shall be used to help pay for the administrative costs associated with infectious waste management. Any transporter or generator who transports infectious waste for more than three hundred miles for management in Missouri shall pay, in addition to the charges above, an additional charge equal to ten percent of the gross charge charged by the processing facility for the management of such waste. Such fees shall be collected by the infectious waste processing facility accepting the waste and transmitted to the department which shall promptly transmit such fees to the department of revenue for deposit in the general revenue fund.

9. Hospitals defined in chapter 197 , and located in Missouri, may manage infectious waste generated on the premises by autoclaving, incineration, chemical disinfection or other methods of treatment approved by the department of health and senior services. Such hospitals may also treat infectious waste produced by small quantity generators and other hospitals located in Missouri upon the approval of the department of natural resources and the department of health and senior services. Failure of either department to respond by issuing a certification to accept infectious waste in writing to a hospital which has filed in writing to both departments a notice of intent to treat waste from another hospital within ninety days constitutes approval of the treatment. All hospitals licensed by the state of Missouri pursuant to chapter 197 are exempt from all taxes or fees imposed pursuant to sections 260.350 to 260.480 , provided that no more than twenty-five percent, by weight, of the infectious waste managed by such hospitals is produced by other generators which are not owned or operated by the hospital.

10. Persons generating one hundred kilograms or less of infectious waste per month are exempt from the provisions of this section except that the department of health and senior services shall specify by rule, in accordance with section 192.005 , infectious waste that shall be rendered innocuous regardless of quantity. Any person who disposes of waste exempt from the provisions of this act * in a sanitary landfill shall certify to the transporter or the sanitary landfill operator that the waste has been handled in a manner consistent with the law and may be legally placed in a sanitary landfill. Rules promulgated by the department of natural resources and the department of health and senior services pursuant to this subsection shall be effective no later than July 1, 1989. Persons found to be in violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

11. A generator of infectious waste who operates single or multiple site research facilities for research and experimental activities as defined in section 174 of the 1986 Internal Revenue Code, who generates such waste as a part of research and experimentation activities, and who manages such waste on site, shall not be required to obtain an infectious waste processing facility permit under this section to manage infectious waste. The generator may accept infectious waste from other sites of the parent research company located in Missouri but shall not accept infectious waste from other sources and shall comply with all other requirements and provisions of sections 260.200 to 260.245 , and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. The University of Missouri Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and the other facilities of the University of Missouri-Columbia shall be considered a multiple site research facility for the purposes of this section.

12. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the transportation of infectious or hazardous waste from the state of Missouri for management in another state.

13. The department of natural resources shall establish, by rule, inspection fees to be paid to the department by owners or operators of commercial infectious waste incinerators. The fees shall not exceed the costs of the inspections and shall not exceed ten thousand dollars per year for a facility. Funds derived from these inspection fees shall be used for the purpose of funding the inspection of commercial infectious waste incinerators.

14. All owners or operators of commercial infectious waste incinerators shall pay the fees, established by the department by rule, for inspections conducted by the department pursuant to this section.

15. There is hereby created the "Infectious Waste Incinerator Inspection Fund". All funds received from infectious waste incinerator inspection fees shall be paid to the director of the department of revenue and deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the infectious waste incinerator inspection fund. Moneys from such fund shall be used by the department of natural resources for conducting inspections at commercial infectious waste incinerators.

16. The department shall furnish to the person, firm or corporation operating the commercial infectious waste facility a complete, full and detailed accounting of the cost of the department's inspection of the facility each time the facility is inspected within thirty days after the inspection is commenced. Failure to do so shall require the department to refund the inspection fee.

(L. 1986 S.B. 475, A.L. 1988 S.B. 535, A.L. 1992 H.B. 1732, A.L. 1993 S.B. 80, et al.) *"This act" (S.B. 535, 1988) contained numerous sections. Consult Disposition of Sections table for a definitive listing.