North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 13 - SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT › Subchapter B - SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT › Section .1200 - MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT › Section 13B .1202 - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR MEDICAL WASTE

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) Medical
				  waste is subject to the rules in
				  15A NCAC
				  13B, "Solid Waste Management."
(b) Sharps and other sharp objects such as
				  syringes with attached needles, capillary tubes, slides and cover slips,
				  lancets, auto injectors, connection needles and sets, exposed ends of dental
				  wires, and objects that can penetrate the skin shall be placed in a rigid,
				  leak-proof when in an upright position, and puncture-resistant container, and
				  shall not be compacted prior to off-site transportation unless placed in a
				  sealed compactor unit that is hauled off for disposal by the
				  transporter.
(c) Blood and body
				  fluids in individual containers in volumes of 20 milliliters or less shall be
				  stored in an area accessible only to the responsible party or their designated
				  representative, and shall not be compacted prior to off-site
				  transportation.
(d) Regulated
				  medical waste shall not be compacted prior to treatment.
(e) Only the responsible party or their
				  designated representative shall have access to regulated medical
				  waste.
(f) Medical waste shall not
				  become putrescent. Medical waste shall be disposed of or treated within three
				  calendar days of becoming putrescent.
(g) Medical waste shall not become a
				  nuisance.
(h) Medical waste
				  accepted at transfer or storage operations or a treatment facility shall not be
				  subject to the requirements of Rule .1203(a) and (b)(2) of this
				  Section.
(i) Medical waste
				  treatment and disposal methods:
(1) Blood and
				  body fluids in individual containers in volumes greater than 20 milliliters
				  shall be disposed of by sanitary sewer if the local sewage treatment authority
				  has been notified; or treated by incineration or steam sterilization.
(2) Microbiological waste shall be treated by
				  incineration, steam sterilization, ozonation, microwave, or chemical
				  treatment.
(3) Non-hazardous
				  pharmaceutical waste shall be treated by incineration or disposed of at a
				  municipal solid waste landfill. The requirements of this Subparagraph shall not
				  prevent non-hazardous pharmaceuticals from being returned to the
				  vendor.
(4) Pathological waste
				  shall be treated by incineration or ozonation.
(5) Trace chemotherapy waste shall be treated
				  by incineration or ozonation.
(6)
				  Noninfectious medical waste and blood and body fluids in individual containers
				  in volumes of 20 milliliters or less may be disposed of in a municipal solid
				  waste landfill, or treated by the treatment methods as described in this
				  Paragraph. Blood and body fluids in individual containers in volumes of 20
				  milliliters or less may also be disposed of in a sanitary sewer. The
				  requirements of this Subparagraph shall not prevent noninfectious medical waste
				  such as textiles, plastic, glass, or metal from being recycled.