Date: 1988-10-12
Speaker: THOMAS A. LUKEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I urge the House to pass IH.R. 3515. the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988. as amended by the Senate on The bill the Senate sends back to us is in nearly all regards the same bill we passed on October 6. 1988. by a vote of 390 to 28. It remains a forceful first assault in the battle against the illegal disposal of medical waste. As we have seen this summer. medical waste pollution is spreading like a contagious disease across America. We have a critically ill medical waste disposal systemand the hypodermic needles and vials of infected blood that washed ashore from Massachusetts to Florida and New York to Ohio are the leading symptoms of this illness. It is imperative that Congress take decisive action to address the problems of medical waste pollution. This repulsive and potentially lethal form of pollution causes thousands of healthcare workers and waste haulers to contract infectious diseases like hepatitis B each year. It has washed up on beaches from Massachusets to Florida and New York to Ohio. crippling local tourist economics. And sometimes it gets into the hands of innocent children. who jeopardize their lives by playing "doctor" with the contaminated hypodermic needles and vials of blood. H.R. 3515 addresses these problems by directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish a 2year demonstration program for tracking and handling medical wastes in New York. New Jersey. Connecticut. and the Great Lakes States. The centerpiece of this program is the uniform tracking system for monitoring medical waste generated in these States from "cradle to grave." Under this system. States must use the Federal form developed by EPA but can add to this form such additional information requirements as they desire. This system is designed to guarantee that medical waste gets to the designated treatment or disposal facility. Just as the hazardous waste manifest system does under subtitle C. The Senate amendments that we consider today preserve this approach. As passed by the House. the bill allowed a State to opt out of participation in the demonstration program if it so notifies EPA within 30 days of promulgation of regulations imple. menting the program. The Senate amendments. however. allow New York. New Jersey. and Connecticut to opt out only if they have State tracking programs no less stringent than the EPA program. But the Senate amendments do not affect the ability of the Great Lakes States to opt out. Because the legislation is being first implemented as a demonstration program in a limited number of States. it is only fair to give these States the option to decide if they want to participate or not. Plus. there is little need to restrict the ability of the Great Lakes States to opt out of the program. The Council of Great Lakes Governors has written key Members of Congress to urge that their States be included in any Federal tracking program. The Senate amendments further clarify the types of medical waste to be tracked under the demonstration program. The definition of "isolation wastes" has been modified to clarify that EPA need not track all solid wastes from the rooms of patients in isolation. but only those that have been in actual contact with infectious agents such Ps blood or other body fluids. In add"Vnn. the Senate amendments make tc:plicit what was previously implicaLthat EPA has author. ity to require tracking of other types of medical waste if EPA finds that the waste poses a threat to human health or the environment. And another amendment clarifies that the intent of section 11002(a)(5) was to reach only animal carcasses and animal body parts. Finally. the Senate amendments extend the time for completion of the health study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry from 9 months to 24 months. While additional time beyond 9 months may be necessary for completion of the final report. ATSDR should nevertheless be prepared to appear before congressional committees before the completion of its report to provide such Information about the health effects of medical waste pollution as may be available to it. Congress will undoubtedly be considering comprehensive medical waste legislation before completion of the final report. and when it does so. the information that ATSDR has gathered will prove very helpful. Mr. Speaker. my colleagues and I are willing to accept these amendments as improvements to the bill We congratulate the Senate for moving expeditiously so that the Environmental Protection Agency can begin the task of controlling the rising tide of medical waste in these States. In sum. this is sound legislation. It has support on both sides of the aisle. It also has the endorsement of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. which supports the bill in its entirety. I urge your support of this legislation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.