Medical Waste Container Requirements

It is important to contact your state environmental program first w hen disposing of medical waste.

Medical waste container requirements.

Jessica mikuliak fnp c some medical 60 o street nw washington dc 20001 dear ms. A warning label that includes the universal biohazard symbol followed by the term biohazard must be included on bags containers of regulated waste on bags containers of contaminated laundry on refrigerators and freezers that are used to store blood or opim and on bags containers used to store dispose of transport or ship blood or. Packaging requirements for regulated medical waste treated off site regulated medical waste is required to be packaged per 15a ncac 13b 1203. Online waste tracking with email notifications is included.

Epa has not had authority specifically for medical waste since the medical waste tracking act mwta of 1988 expired in 1991. To protect the public and the environment from potentially infectious disease causing agents the medical waste management program program in the environmental management branch regulates the generation handling storage treatment and disposal of medical waste by providing oversight for the implementation of the medical waste management act mwma. The surface of these bags or containers should be clearly labeled as bio medical waste or bio hazardous waste containers and bags must bear the name and contact information of the facility and a contact person. Paper collections can be done during any medical waste service visit.

This is in response to your e mail inquiry in which you ask the occupational safety and health administration osha to clarify its policy on the containerization and disposal of specimen containers used for urine collection in medical settings. Properly labeled to warn of hazardous waste inside the container. And other containers used to store transport or. Medical waste is primarily regulated by state environmental and health departments.

Medical waste disposal for biohazard red bag waste sharps waste pharmaceutical medicine waste and pathological trace chemotherapy waste. A medical waste generator that stores medical waste and will have medical waste disposed of off site or treated off site shall comply with 15a ncac 13b 1202. Warning labels are to be affixed to containers of regulated waste refrigerators and freezers containing blood or other potentially infectious material. Osha has specific requirements for how medical facilities communicate the nature of the hazardous material inside medical waste containers.

When your sharps disposal container is about three quarters 3 4 full follow your community guidelines for proper disposal methods. 1416 1418 after steam sterilization the residue can be safely handled. If steam sterilization in the health care facility is used for waste treatment exposure of the waste for up to 90 minutes at 250 f 121 c in a autoclave depending on the size of the load and type container may be necessary to ensure an adequate decontamination cycle.