Code of Maine Rules › 06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › 096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL › Chapter 900 - BIOMEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT RULES › Section 096-900-6 - Definitions

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Antineoplastic drug.
"Antineoplastic drug" means any of the group of cytotoxic drugs used in the
				treatment of cancer.
B.
Biologicals.
"Biologicals" means preparations made from living
				organisms and their products, including serums, vaccines, antigens, and
				antitoxins.
C.
Biomedical
				waste.
"Biomedical waste" means a waste that may contain human pathogens
				of sufficient virulence and in sufficient concentrations that exposure to it by
				a susceptible host could result in disease. Biomedical waste is further defined
				in Section 7 of this rule.
D.
Biomedical waste activity
. "Biomedical waste activity" means the
				generation, handling, storage, transport, and treatment of biomedical
				waste.
E.
Biomedical waste
				manifest.
"Biomedical waste manifest" means the form used for
				identifying the quantity, composition, and the origin, routing, and destination
				of biomedical waste during its transportation from the point of generation to
				the point of off-site treatment.
F.
Board.
"Board" means Board of Environmental Protection.
G.
Chemotherapy waste.
"Chemotherapy waste" means all materials that have come in contact with and
				have no more than trace amounts of cytotoxic/antineoplastic agents.
H.
Commissioner.
"Commissioner"
				means the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.
I.
Contaminated.
"Contaminated"
				means soiled or made inferior or potentially infectious through physical
				contact or mixture with a biomedical waste.
J.
Conveyance.
"Conveyance"
				means any vehicle used for transportation on land, water or in the air. For the
				requirement that a transporter license be obtained, the term includes only the
				cargo-carrying portion of a conveyance. For the requirements of Section 14, the
				term includes the entire conveyance.
K.
Cytotoxic drugs.
"Cytotoxic
				drugs" means drugs that are toxic to living cells.
L.
Department.
"Department"
				means the Department of Environmental Protection, which includes the
				Commissioner and the Board.
M.
Discharge.
"Discharge" means any spilling, leaking, pumping,
				pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping.
N.
Disinfect.
"Disinfect" means
				to reduce the infectiousness of an object or material such that it poses
				virtually no risk of infection to those handling, or otherwise coming into
				contact with, the object or material.
O.
Disposal.
"Disposal" means
				the discharge of untreated biomedical waste into or on any land or water so
				that the biomedical waste or any constituent thereof may enter the environment
				or be emitted into the air or discharged into any waters, including ground
				waters. The Department prohibits the disposal of biomedical waste.
P.
Existing facility.
"Existing
				facility" means a biomedical waste transfer facility in existence on December
				18, 1989 or a facility holding an air emission license for a Class VI B
				incinerator on December 18, 1989.
Q.
Flood plain.
"Flood plain"
				means the lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal
				waters, including flood prone areas of offshore islands, which are inundated by
				a flood that has 1% or greater chance of recurring in any year or a flood of a
				magnitude equaled or exceeded once in 100 years on the average.
R.
Generator.
"Generator" means
				any person or medical facility whose act or process produces biomedical waste
				in any quantity.
S.
Generated
				Off Site.
"Generated Off-Site" means biomedical waste accepted at a
				biomedical waste transfer or treatment facility that was not generated
				on-site.
T.
Handle.
"Handle" means to store, transfer, collect, separate, salvage, process, reduce,
				recover, incinerate, treat or dispose of.
U.
Hazardous waste.
"Hazardous
				waste" means material that is identified as hazardous waste under Chapter 850
				of the Department's Hazardous Waste Management Rules.
V.
Household.
"Household" means
				single and multiple residential dwellings and includes hotels, motels and
				boarding homes.
W.
Incineration.
"Incineration" means a processing method using an
				engineered apparatus capable of withstanding heat and having as its purpose the
				efficient thermal oxidation and/or conversion of combustible material into
				noncombustible residues (ash) and product gases.
X.
Infectious.
"Infectious"
				means caused by or capable of being communicated by invasion and multiplication
				of microorganisms in body tissues; having the potential to transmit
				disease.
Y.
Infectious
				agent.
"Infectious agent" means a biological substance (such as a virus,
				bacterium or other biological organism) capable of causing disease or adverse
				health impacts in humans.
Z.
Medical facility.
"Medical facility" means any place where
				biomedical waste is generated, including, but not limited to: hospitals,
				ambulatory surgical centers, emergency medical service providers, offices and
				mobile units of health care providers including doctors and dentists, nursing
				homes, medical diagnostic laboratories, blood centers, pharmaceutical
				companies, research laboratories, health agencies, diet or health care clinics,
				offices of veterinarians, veterinary hospitals, and funeral homes and
				mortuaries.
AA.
M.R.S.A.
"M.R.S.A." means the Maine Revised Statutes
				Annotated.
BB.
Municipality.
"Municipality" means a city, town, or plantation or
				unorganized township.
CC.
Off-Site.
"Off-Site" describes a facility or area for the storage,
				handling or treatment of biomedical waste which is not on the generator's site
				(i.e., "on-site") or a facility or area which receives biomedical waste for
				storage or treatment which has not been generated "on-site" at that
				facility.
DD.
On-Site.
"On-Site" means the activity in question is taking place or exists at the same
				site. Two or more contiguous pieces of property owned by the same generator or
				facility owner are a single site for the purposes of this definition.
EE.
Operator.
"Operator" means
				any person who has care, charge or control of a biomedical waste transfer or
				treatment facility or conveyance. This person may be an agent, a lessee of the
				owner, or an independent contractor.
FF.
Owner.
"Owner" means any
				person who alone or in conjunction with others owns a conveyance used for the
				transport of biomedical waste or the real property upon which is located a
				biomedical waste facility subject to these rules.
GG.
Pathological waste.
"Pathological waste" means human tissues, organs, and anatomical parts
				including teeth, discarded from surgery, autopsy, obstetrical procedures, and
				laboratory procedures.
HH.
Person.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, association,
				firm, company, corporation, department, agency, group, municipality, state,
				country, other governmental unit, or any other entity responsible in any way
				for an activity subject to these rules.
II.
Radioactive waste.
"Radioactive waste" means any waste material which emits ionizing radiation
				spontaneously.
JJ.
Saturated
. "Saturated" means thoroughly soaked or dripping. For
				the purposes of this rule the term "saturated" refers to a waste, which at the
				time of generation, is soaked or dripping with human blood, blood products or
				body fluids.
KK.
Sharps.
"Sharps" means items which may cause puncture wounds or
				cuts including, but not limited to, hypodermic needles, syringes, scalpel
				blades, capillary tubes and lancets. Sharps are further identified in Section
				7(A)(4) of this rule.
LL.
Site.
"Site" means the same or geographically contiguous property
				which may be divided by a public or private right-of-way, provided that the
				entrance and exit between the properties is at a crossroads intersection and
				access is by crossing as opposed to going along the right-of-way. Noncontiguous
				properties owned by the same person but connected by a right-of-way which he or
				she controls and to which the public does not have access is also considered
				site property.
MM.
Site
				Location Law.
"Site Location Law" means the Site Location of Development
				Law, 38M.R.S.A. Section481,
et seq.
NN.
Solid waste.
"Solid waste"
				as defined in 38 M.R.S.A. Section1303-C(29) means useless, unwanted or
				discarded solid material with insufficient liquid content to be free flowing,
				including by way of example, and not by limitation to, rubbish, garbage, scrap
				materials, junk, refuse, inert fill material, and landscape refuse, but does
				not include hazardous waste, biomedical waste, septage or agricultural
				wastes.
OO.
Special
				waste.
"Special waste" as defined in 38 M.R.S.A., Section1303-C(34)
				means any solid waste generated by sources other than domestic and typical
				commercial establishments that exists in such an unusual quantity or in such a
				chemical or physical state, or any combination thereof, that may disrupt or
				impair effective waste management or threaten the public health, human safety
				or the environment and requires special handling, transportation and disposal
				procedures.
PP.
Storage.
"Storage" means the containment of biomedical waste either
				on a temporary basis or for a period of years, in such a manner as not to
				constitute disposal of such wastes.
QQ.
Substantial modification.
"Substantial modification" means any change in size, volume handled or
				operation of a licensed facility which may pose a risk to health, safety,
				welfare or the environment which is significantly different in kind or degree
				from that posed by the facility without the modification, or may pose a
				significant risk which was not considered in the original application or is not
				addressed in the existing license.
RR.
Transfer facility.
"Transfer
				facility" means any transportation-related facility including loading docks,
				parking areas, storage areas and other similar areas where shipments of
				biomedical waste are held during the normal course of transportation.
SS.
Transport.
"Transport" means
				the movement of biomedical waste from the point of its generation to any
				intermediate points and finally to its point of ultimate disposition. Movement
				of biomedical waste on the site where it is generated or on the site of a
				licensed biomedical waste transfer or treatment facility is not
				"transport."
TT.
Transporter.
"Transporter" means any person who transports
				biomedical waste in this state in any quantity, unless exempt from the
				requirements of this rule pursuant to Section 4 of this rule. The term
				includes, without limitation, individuals who own, lease or otherwise control
				conveyances in which biomedical waste is transported, operators of such
				conveyances, and businesses regardless of size and form of business
				organization, which engage in transportation of biomedical waste.
UU.
Transported Off-Site.
"Transported Off-Site" means to be transported from the point of generation to
				a biomedical waste transfer or treatment facility that is not on the
				generator's site.
VV.
Treatment.
"Treatment" means any method, technique, or process
				designed to change the biological character or composition of biomedical waste
				so as to eliminate or reduce its potential for causing disease.
WW.
Waste.
"Waste" means any
				useless, unwanted or discarded substance or material, whether or not such
				substance or material has any other or future use and includes any substance or
				material that is spilled, leaked, pumped, poured, emitted, emptied or dumped
				onto the land or into the water or ambient air.