Date: 1988-10-04
Speaker: THOMAS A. LUKEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 3515. as amended. the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988. The bill deserves passage by this body because it is a vital step toward stopping the illegal midnight dumping of lethal medical wastes. The illegal disposal of medical waste is spreading like an epidemic across the country. Like a mysterious disease traveling across America. medical waste problems are erupting in dozens of disparate communities without warning or explanation. The manifestation of the emerging crisisthe symptons of the diseaseare the hypodermic needles and vials of infectious blood and other noxious medical wastes washing ashore on beaches from Massachusetts to Florida and New York to Ohio. This summer these washups broke out like a rash of unsightly sores along the East Coast and Great Lakes. The sickened and frightened the public. blighted the complexion of our coastlines. and crippled local tourist economies. October 1/. 1988 But the problems created by the illegal disposal of medical waste are not limited to coastal States. They can affect every community in the country. All told. millions of tons of medical waste are generated each year. Much of this waste is infectiouscontaminated with deadly viruses like AIDS or hepatitis B. This waste is not just repulsive. it can literally kill people. According to recent Federal studies. as many as 18.000 people each year may contract hepatitis B from accidental contact with medical wastes. Hundreds of those infected will utlitmately die from the infection. And worst of all. our childrens lives can be threatened. Last year. careless doctors in Youngstown. OH1. and Indianapolis. IN. put contaminated needles and vials of infected blood into dumpsters. Kids found the needles and blood vials and played "doctor" with themsplattering blood on each other and giving each other injections that could have proved fatal. Although none of the childen contracted a disease. similar incidents could occur practically anywhere in the country. And next time the victims may not be so lucky. What have we done to stop this growing national crisis? Up to now. nothing. Some 10 years ago. EPA actually proposed to regulate medical waste. but the proposal was quietly dropped. Since then. the agency has been strangely silent in the face of repeated incidents. Today we are voting on a bill to change thislegislation that takes a critically important first step toward controlling the spread of medical waste. The bill establishes a demonstration program for tracking medical wastes in 10 of the most affected StatesNew York. New Jersey. Connecticut. and the States bordering the Great Lakes. And it provides that other States may petition the Federal Environmental Protection Agency for inclusion in the tracking program. This tracking system wlil require the hospital or medical office that generates medical waste to ensure that a paper trail follows the waste from the generators premises to the garbage truck to the incinerator or landfill where it is finally disposed. In effect. the tracking system will work like a burglar alarm. It will force the generator to alert EPA headquarters whenever medical waste doesnt make it to the designated incinerator or landfillthus sounding the alarm that puts law enforcement officials on the trail of the midnight dumper. The bill also directs EPA to issue standards requiring medical waste to be segregated from the ordinary solid waste stream and properly packaged and labeled. These standards are as important as the tracking system itself. They will protect healthcare workers. waste haulers. and the general public from exposure to medical waste. In laymans terms. these standards will make it a Federal crime to dump lethal medical wastes. like contaminated hypodermic needles or vials of infected blood. into a dumpster where kids can find themthus preventing a recurrence of what happened in Ohio and Indiana. There has been great confusion about what is and what is not "medical waste." The bill resolves this issue. I believe. It precisely defines 10 categories of wastes that must be tracked and handled under EPAs regulations. These categories include all the worst and most frightening types of Infectious wastesamputated limbs. contaminated hypodermics. blood vials. The bill also authorizes EPA to use the full inspection and enforcement powers established for hazardous wastes to track down and prosecute anyone who violates the new Federal requirements for medical waste. And the top penalties are steep: $25.000 per day for civil violations and $50.000 per day and 2 years in Jail for criminal ones. The States. too. are beneficiaries under the bill. The bill offers a State like Ohio substantial protection from the flood of untreated infectious waste it receives from eastern neighbors. It specifically provides that a State can take enforcement action against anyone who imports into a State any medical waste that does not meet the Federal tracking and handling standards set in the bill. In another important provision. the bill requires EPA to provide Congress with a series of reports on the generation and treatment of medical waste. These reportsand the experience we gain under the demonstration programwill prove vital when Congress revisits the medical waste issue in upcoming years. Overall. then. I believe the Medical Waste Tracking Act is a very fine first step toward stopping medical waste pollution. The last section of H.R. 3515. as amended. incorporates the provisions of H.R. 4756. a bill ordered reported from the Judiciary Committee. This section of H.R. 3515 authorizes EPA officials to carry firearms and make arrests. It was proposed by the administration. has bipartisan support. and codifies current practice. I urge my colleagues to approve this excellent bill. In conclusion. I want to recognize the many Members of Congress who have worked long and hard to bring this legislation to fruition. They include the gentleman from Michigan . the gentleman from New Jersey . the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. ECKARTI. the gentleman from Kansas . the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. WYDENI. and many other members of the Committee on Energy and Coinmerce. From the other side of the aisle. two members in particular. the gentleman from Kansas and the gentleman from New York . spent many long hours working out a consensus bill with me and deserve special commendation for their efforts. Without the unstinting efforts of these House members. this legislation could not have traveled this far. this fast. In the Senate. the sponsors of a companion Senate bill. Senator BRADLEY and Senator LAUTENBERG. also worked tirelessly and with great dedication. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.