Medical Waste Regulations

Public concerns about medical waste, particularly waste disposal, increased in the 1990s after used medical debris, including vials and syringes, began to appear on beach shores. On June 24, 1998, the American Hospital Association and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to eliminate mercury debris from hospital waste streams and take active steps to manage and regulate the disposal of medical waste.

Agency Oversight

Healthcare facilities such as emergency centers, veterinary hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, dental offices and all-purpose hospitals, are generally regulated by state and municipal waste regulation offices. These state and municipal regulators provide oversight for medical waste standards, policies and practices for healthcare facilities within their jurisdiction. Regulated medical waste types include biohazard and infectious materials. State hazardous and non-hazardous waste guidelines are established by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Subtitle C of the Act addresses corrective actions to be taken around the prevention and clean up of environmental problems caused by improper medical waste practices.

Medical Waste Tracking Act

The Medical Waste Tracking Act was created in 1988. The Act defined various types of medical waste and identified specific waste types that required regulation. The Act also established a system to track medical waste disposal and record keeping requirements. It also created penalties to be assessed to healthcare facilities not in compliance with the standards and requirements. The Act focused on incinerators and autoclaves, chemical and mechanical systems, and microwave units.

Incineration

The EPA reports that medical facilities incinerate more than 90 percent of potentially infectious medical waste. To reduce medical waste incinerators, the EPA created regulations around stringent air emission guidelines. The directives are used by states as they develop processes and procedures to reduce or eliminate air pollution created during the incineration of medical waste. The directives require the EPA to review New Source Performance Standards for source categories every five years. Halogenated compounds, highly reactive gases and heavy metals pollutants like HCI, PB and HG were targeted for reductions of 85 percent to as much as 99 percent. Estimates by the EPA report that adherence to the directives will decrease mercury emissions by 94 percent. Other estimates reflected a 90 percent decrease in particulate matter, a 98 percent decrease in hydrogen chloride and a 95 percent decrease in dioxin emissions.

Disposal of Medical Needles and Sharp Objects

States created guidelines around the disposal of medical needs, sharp objects and self-injected needles used by people from their private homes. The state of New Jersey reports that home-generated disposal of needles and syringes (or sharps) makes up nearly 700,000 of the sharps disposed of daily in the state. These sharps are used by patients with diabetes and other health issues. Instead of discarding the needles and sharp objects in trash cans, U.S. citizens are encouraged to deposit the objects in drop boxes or collection sites located outside doctor offices, pharmacies or fire stations. Citizens can also make use of the North American Syringe Exchange Network program to return old needles and receive new needles. The exchange program can be reached by calling [phone]. Some manufacturers create needles for at-home medical use with a process to destroy the needles by severing, burning or melting them. Local pharmacists and physicians are excellent sources for how to dispose of at-home medical needles.

Benefits

Clearly defined medical waste regulations and guidelines lower air pollution and decrease instances of infectious diseases caused by improperly disposed needles and syringes used in private homes. The regulations also help educate healthcare practitioners and patients about the dangers of mismanaged medical waste. Federal and state directives establish corrective measures to counter poor management of medical waste, including how to report, store and destroy the material.