Source: https://www.sdmedwaste.com/medical-waste-management-act
Timestamp: 2020-08-13 14:01:22
Document Index: 691481568

Matched Legal Cases: ['art\n117605', 'art.\n118160', 'art 1', 'art.\n118205', 'arts\n118222', 'art\n118321', 'art 1', 'art.\n118355', 'art 1']

Medical Waste Management Act | Medical Waste Laws in California
January 2017 Addition
Section 117600-118360
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117600 - Citation of part
117605 - Preempt
(f) During the period of temporary waiver described in subdivision (e), or if preemption is found, the federal requirements shall be deemed to be the law of this state and enforceable by the department. The department may enforce these federal requirements
by providing an updated guidance document to interested parties and posting the updated guidance document on the department’s Internet Web site.
117610 - Regulations
117615 - Local Ordinance
117625 - Definitions
117630 - Biohazard Bag
117636 - Chemotherapeutic Agent
117637 - Common Carrier
117640 - Common Storage Facility
117645 - Container
117647 - Empty
117650 - Enforcement Agency
117655 - Enforcement Officer
117657 - Fund
117660 - Hazardous Waste Hauler
117662 - Health Care Professional
117665 - Highly Communicable Diseases
117670 - Household Waste
117671 - Home-generated Sharps Waste
117672 - Industrial Hygienist
117675 - Infectious Agent
117680 - Large Quantity Generator
117685 - Local Agency
117690 - Medical Waste
(i) Regulated medical waste, clinical waste, or biomedical waste that is a waste or reusable material derived from the medical treatment of a human or from an animal that is suspected by the attending veterinarian of being infected with a pathogen that is also infectious to humans, which includes diagnosis and immunization; or from biomedical research, which includes the production and testing of biological products.
117695 - Treated Medical Waste
117700 - Not Medical Waste
117705 - Medical Waste Generator
117710 - Medical Waste Management Plan
117715 - Medical Waste Permit
117720 - Medical Waste Registration
117725 - Medical Waste Treatment Facility
117730 - Mixed Waste
117735 - Offsite
117740 - Onsite
117742 - Parent Organization
117745 - Person
117747 - Pharmaceutical
117750 - Sharps Container
117760 - Small Quantity Generator
117765 - Storage
117770 - Tracking Document
117771 - Shipping Document
117775 - Transfer Station
117776 - Trauma Scene
117778 - Trauma Scene Waste Management Practitioner
117780 - Treatment
117800 - Local Agency
117805 - Notify Department A local agency that elects to implement a medical waste management program shall notify the department of its intent to do so.
117810 - Implementation
117815 - Program Consistency
117820 - Medical Waste Management Program
117825 - Registration and Permit Fees
117830 - Enforcement Agency
117835 - Department’s Database
117840 - Intent of the Legislature
117845 - Department shall Implement
117850 - Share Information
117855 - Withdrawal
117860 - Department Becomes Enforcement Agency
117870 - Department Identifies Significant Violations
117875 - Withdrawal
117880 - Fees
117885 - Fund
117890 - Large Quantity Generator (LQG) Registration
117895 - Small Quantity Generator (SQG) Registration
117900 - Medical Waste Hauler Registration
117903 - Treat Medical Waste
117904 - Consolidation
(b) A consolidation location approved pursuant to this section shall be known as a “home- generated sharps consolidation point.”
117905 - Offsite Treatment
117908 - Common Storage Facility
117910 - Technical Assistance & Guidance
The department shall provide ongoing technical assistance and guidance to local enforcement agencies to assist them in their decision making processes. This assistance shall include, but is not limited to, providing all of the following:
117915 - Containment and Storage
117918 - Treatment
117920 - Registration
117923 - Fees
117924 - Collect Fees
(6) Require medical waste transporters to include the following language in at least 12-point type on their invoices to medical waste generators: “Pursuant to Section 117924 of the California Health and Safety Code, the State Department of Public Health has contracted with us to collect your annual medical waste generator fee. The department may offset our costs of collection and administration in an amount that may not exceed 7.5 percent of the fee collected. We may not waive the fee without written approval of the department, and only if you have made a written request for the waiver.”
117925 - Onsite Treatment
117928 - Common Storage Facility
117930 - Treat Onsite
117935 - Medical Waste Management Plan A small quantity generator required to register with the enforcement agency pursuant to Section 117930 shall file with the enforcement agency a medical waste management plan on forms prescribed by the enforcement agency, if provided. The plans shall contain, but are not limited to, all of the following:
117938 - Biennial Inspection
(1) The operators of the treatment equipment specified in subdivision (a) shall be required to receive training in the operation of the treatment equipment, proper protective equipment to wear, if any, how to clean up spills, and other information required to operate the treatment equipment in a safe and effective manner.
117940 - Medical Waste Generator Registration
117943 - Treatment and Tracking Records
117945 - Information Documentation and Transportation Records
117946 - Materials of Trade Exemption
117950 - Registration
117960 - Medical Waste Management Plan
117965 - Annual Inspection
117967 - Onsite Treatment
117970 - Medical Waste Generator Registration
117971 - Inspection and Enforcement Cost Recovery
117975 - Treatment and Tracking Records
117976 - Materials of Trade Exemption
117980 - Containment and Storage
117985 - Treatment
117990 - Fees
117995 - Collect Fees
(1) A general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250, that has one or more beds, but not more than 99 beds, shall pay six hundred dollars ($600), a facility with 100 or more beds, but not more than 199 beds, shall pay eight hundred sixty dollars ($860), a facility with 200 or more beds, but not more than 250 beds shall pay one thousand one hundred dollars ($1,100), and a facility with 251 or more beds shall pay one thousand four hundred dollars ($1,400).
(i) A veterinary clinic or veterinary hospital shall pay two hundred dollars ($200). (j) A large quantity generator medical office shall pay two hundred dollars ($200).
118000 - Transportation of Medical Waste
118025 - Registration
118027 - Unknowingly Transports
118029 - Information Requirements
118032 - Pharmaceutical Waste Hauling Exemption
(1) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), if a health care professional who generates pharmaceutical waste returns the pharmaceutical waste to the parent organization for the purpose of consolidation before treatment and disposal over a period of time, a single-page form or multiple entry log may be substituted for the tracking document, if the form or log contains all of the following information:
118033 - Secure Pharmaceutical Waste
118035 - Transfer of Medical Waste
118040 - Tracking Records
118045 - Transfer Station Permit
118130 - Permits
All offsite medical waste treatment facilities and transfer stations shall be permitted and inspected by the department. All onsite medical waste treatment facilities shall be permitted and inspected by the enforcement agency.
118135 - Permit Prior To Operation
118140 - Accepting Medical Waste
A health care facility accepting medical waste for treatment from the physicians and surgeons who are on the staff of the facility and who are small quantity generators shall be classified as an onsite treatment facility and shall be permitted and inspected by the enforcement agency.
118145 - Adjacent Small Quantity Generators
A health care facility accepting medical waste for treatment from small quantity generators that are adjacent to the facility shall be classified as an onsite treatment facility and shall be permitted and inspected by the enforcement agency.
118147 - Consolidation
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a registered medical waste generator, which is a facility specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 117705, may accept home-generated sharps waste, to be consolidated with the facility’s medical waste stream, subject to all of the following conditions:
(a) The generator of the sharps waste, a member of the generator’s family, or a person authorized by the enforcement agency transports the sharps waste to the medical waste generator’s facility.
(b) The sharps waste is accepted at a central location at the medical waste generator’s facility.
(c) A reference to, and a description of, the actions taken pursuant to this section are included in the facility’s medical waste management plan adopted pursuant to Section 117960.
118150 - Compliance
118155 - Permits
(e) A plan for closure of the facility using, at minimum, one of the methods of decontamination specified in subdivision (a) or
(b) of Section 118295, thereby rendering the property to an acceptable sanitary condition following the ending of treatment services at the site. (f) Any other information required by the enforcement agency for the administration or enforcement of this part or the regulations adopted pursuant to this part.
118160 - Permit Requirements
118165 - Treatment and Tracking Records
118170 - Duration of Permit
(a) A medical waste permit issued by the enforcement agency to a medical waste treatment facility shall be valid for five years.
(b) An application for renewal of the permit shall be filed with the enforcement agency not less than 90 days prior to the expiration date. If a permittee fails to make a timely application for renewal, the medical waste permit shall expire on the expiration date.
118175 - Conditions for Granting Permit
(a) A medical waste permit may be renewed if the enforcement agency finds the permittee has been in substantial compliance with this part and the regulations adopted pursuant to this part during the preceding permitted period or that the permittee corrected previous violations in a timely manner.
(b) Upon approval of the enforcement agency, a permit may be transferred from one subsidiary to another subsidiary of the same corporation, from a parent corporation to one of its subsidiaries, or from a subsidiary to a parent corporation.
118180 - Permit Validity
A person required to obtain a medical waste permit shall, at all times, possess a valid permit for each facility in operation. A medical waste permit shall terminate prior to its expiration date if suspended or revoked pursuant to Section 118350 or, notwithstanding Section 118355, if either of the following occurs:
(a) The permittee sells or otherwise transfers the facility, except as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 118175.
(b) The permittee surrenders the permit to the enforcement agency because the permittee ceases operation.
118185 - Permit Procedures
The enforcement agency shall issue a medical waste permit upon evaluation, inspection, or records review of the applicant if the applicant is in substantial compliance with this part and the regulations adopted pursuant to this part and the applicant has corrected any previous violations. A decision to issue or not to issue the permit shall be made by the enforcement agency within 180 days of the time that the application is deemed complete, unless waived by the applicant.
118190 - Permit Conditions
When issuing, renewing, or revising any treatment facility permit, the enforcement agency may prohibit or condition the handling or treatment of medical waste to protect the public health and safety.
118195 - Denial of Permit
An enforcement agency shall inform an applicant for a medical waste permit, in writing, upon the denial of any application for the permit. Within 20 days after the enforcement agency mails the notice, the applicant may present a written petition for a hearing to the enforcement agency. Upon receipt by the enforcement agency of the petition in proper form, the petition shall be set for hearing.
If the department is the enforcement agency, the proceedings shall commence with the filing of a statement of issues and shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the department has all the powers granted to a department in that chapter.
If the department is not the enforcement agency, the hearings shall be held in accordance with the ordinance adopting the medical waste management program.
118200 - Inspection
The enforcement agency shall evaluate, inspect, and review the records of medical waste treatment facilities for compliance with this part.
118205 - Fees
118210 - Collect Fees
(a) The department shall charge an annual permit fee for an offsite medical waste treatment facility equal to either one hundred twenty-seven ten thousandths of a cent ($0.0127) for each pound of medical waste treated or twelve thousand dollars ($12,000), whichever is greater. The department may collect annual fees and issue permits on a biennial basis.
(b) The department shall charge an initial application fee for each type of treatment technology at an offsite medical waste treatment facility equal to one hundred dollars ($100) for each hour the department spends processing the application, but not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or as provided in the regulations adopted by the department.
118215 - Methods
(A) Incineration at a permitted medical waste treatment facility in a controlled-air, multichamber incinerator, or other method of incineration approved by the department which provides complete combustion of the waste into carbonized or mineralized ash.
(B) Recording or indicating thermometers shall be checked during each complete cycle to ensure the attainment of 121° Centigrade (250° Fahrenheit) for at least one-half hour, depending on the quantity and density of the load, to achieve sterilization of the entire load. Thermometers, thermocouples, or other monitoring devices identified in the facility operating plan shall be checked for calibration annually. Records of the calibration checks shall be maintained as part of the facility’s files and records for a period of
two years or for the period specified in the regulations.
(A) Other alternative medical waste treatment methods which are both of the following:
(1) A medical waste that is a biohazardous laboratory waste, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 117690, may be treated by a chemical disinfection if the waste is liquid or semiliquid and the chemical disinfection method is recognized by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the American Biological Safety Association, and if the use of chemical disinfection as a treatment method is identified in the site’s medical waste management plan.
118220 - Anatomical Parts
118222 - Waste Requiring Specified Methods
118225 - Sharps Waste
118230 - Incineration
118235 - Emergency Action Plan
118240 - Animal Carcasses
118245 - Fees for Alternative Treatment Technologies
118275 - Medical Waste Segregation and Storage
(B) Nonradioactive pharmaceutical wastes that are not subject to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (Public Law 94- 580), as amended, and that are regulated as medical waste are placed in a container or secondary container labeled with the words “HIGH HEAT” or “INCINERATION ONLY,” or with another label approved by the department, on the lid and sides, so as to be visible from any lateral direction, to ensure treatment of the biohazardous waste pursuant to Section 118222.
118280 - Containment and Storage
(1) Medical waste may be placed into a biohazard bag not to exceed three pounds or one gallon and tied, as required in subdivision (a), in a patient room and shall be immediately transported upon completion of the procedure directly from the point of generation and placed into a biohazard container stored in a soiled utility room or other biohazardous waste storage area without having first been placed into a secondary container in the patient room.
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (5), a person generating biohazardous waste shall comply with the following requirements:
118285 - Sharps Waste
118286 - Management of Home-generated Sharps Waste
118290 - Common Storage Facility
118295 - Wash and Decontaminate Containers
118300 - Spill Decontamination
118305 - Solid Waste
118307 - Interim Storage Area
118310 - Designated Accumulation Area
A designated accumulation area used for the storage of medical waste containers prior to transportation or treatment shall be secured so as to deny access to unauthorized persons and shall be marked with warning signs on, or adjacent to, the exterior of entry doors, gates, or lids. The storage area may be secured by use of locks on entry doors, gates, or receptacle lids. The wording of warning signs shall be in English, “CAUTION—BIOHAZARDOUS WASTE STORAGE AREA—UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS KEEP OUT,” and in Spanish, “CUIDADO— ZONA DE RESIDUOS—BIOLOGICOS PELIGROSOS—PROHIBIDA LA ENTRADA A PERSONAS NO AUTORIZADAS,” or in another language, in addition to English, determined to be appropriate by the infection control staff or enforcement agency. A warning sign concerning infectious waste, as that term was defined by Section 25117.5 as it read on December 31, 1990, that sign having been installed before April 1, 1991, meets the requirements of this section, until the sign is changed and as long as the sign is not moved. Warning signs shall be readily legible during daylight from a distance of at least 25 feet. Any enclosure or designated accumulation area shall provide medical waste protection from animals and natural elements and shall not provide a breeding place or a food source for insects or rodents.
118315 - Trash Chutes A person shall not use a trash chute to transfer medical waste.
118320 - Compactors or Grinders
(1) Grinding or compacting may be used when it is an integral part of an alternative treatment method approved by the department.
118321 - Citation of Part
118321.1 - Registration and Fees
118321.2 - List of Practitioners
118321.3 - Department Duties
118321.4 - Transporter Deemed Generator
118321.5 - Removal, Transportation, and Storage
118321.6 - Limitations
118325 - Injunction for Violations
118330 - Order for Compliance / Administrative Penalty
(1) In establishing the amount of the administrative penalty and ordering that the violation be corrected pursuant to this section, the enforcement agency shall take into consideration the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation, the violator’s past and present efforts to prevent, abate, or clean up conditions posing a threat to the public health or safety or the environment, the violator’s ability to pay the penalty, and the deterrent effect that the imposition of the penalty would have on both the violator and the regulated community.
(1) An order issued pursuant to this section shall be served by personal service or certified mail and shall inform the person served of the right to a hearing.
(2) A person served with an order pursuant to paragraph (1) and who has been unable to resolve the violation with the enforcement agency may, within 15 days after service of the order, request a hearing by filing with the enforcement agency a notice of defense. The notice shall be filed with the agency that issued the order. A notice of defense shall be deemed filed within the 15-day period if it is postmarked within that 15-day period. If no notice of defense is filed within the 15- day time period, the order shall become final.
(i) A hearing officer designated by the enforcement agency, who shall conduct the hearing in accordance with Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the enforcement agency shall have all the authority granted to an agency by those provisions. When a hearing is conducted by an enforcement agency hearing officer pursuant to this clause, the enforcement agency shall issue a decision within 60 days after the hearing is conducted. Each hearing officer designated by an enforcement agency shall meet the requirements of Section 11425.30 of the Government Code and any other applicable restriction.
(1) The department shall serve an order issued pursuant to this section by personal service or certified mail and shall inform the person served of the right to a hearing.
118335 - Inspection
118340 - Unauthorized Actions / Criminal Penalty
(d) Any person who knowingly treats or disposes, or causes the treatment or disposal of, medical waste in violation of this part shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for one, two, or three years, or by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. (e) This section does not apply to a person transporting medical waste who is required to be a registered hazardous waste transporter. Those persons are subject to penalties for violations pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 25180) of Chapter 6.5 of Division 20.
118345 - False Statements / Failure to Register
118350 - Grounds for Suspension or Revocation The enforcement agency may suspend, amend, or revoke any medical waste permit issued by the enforcement agency for any of the following reasons:
(a) Violation by the permittee of any of the provisions of this part or any regulation adopted pursuant to this part.
(b) Violation of any term or condition of the permit.
(c) Aiding, abetting, or permitting the violation specified in subdivision (a) or (b) or interference in the performance of the duty of the enforcement officer.
(d) Proof that the permittee has intentionally made false statements, or failed to disclose fully all relevant facts, in any material regard, on the application for a medical waste permit.
(e) The conviction of a permittee, or the person in charge of the activity subject to the medical waste permit, of any crime that is substantially related to the qualifications or duties of the permittee or the person in charge of the activity, or that is substantially related to the functions that are subject to the medical waste permit.
For purposes of this section, a conviction means a plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. An action to revoke or suspend the medical waste permit may be taken when the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal. That action may also be taken when an order granting probation is made suspending the imposition of sentence, notwithstanding any subsequent order pursuant to Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code. The enforcement agency shall take into account all competent evidence of rehabilitation furnished by the permittee or person in charge of the permitted activity.
(f) A change in any condition that requires either a temporary or permanent modification, reduction, or termination of the permitted operation to bring it into compliance with the requirements of this part and the regulations adopted pursuant to this part.
118355 - Proceedings
Proceedings conducted by the department for the suspension or revocation of a medical waste permit shall commence with the filing of any accusation and shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and the department shall have all the powers granted to a department in that chapter.
118360 - Temporary Permit Suspension