Infectious Waste
Treatment and Disposal
Infectious waste
must be treated or disposed at a facility with a permit or other
form of approval. After being rendered noninfectious, the waste
may be managed as a noninfectious solid waste. Approved treatment
or disposal methods include:
· Infectious
waste may be incinerated in an incinerator that has a permit or
other approval from both the Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste
and the Division of Air Quality.
· Infectious
waste may be sterilized by heating in a steam sterilizer to render
the waste noninfectious. After sterilization, the waste may be
managed as a noninfectious solid waste.
· Other methods
may be used to render infectious waste noninfectious. Prior to
its use, any other method must be approved, on a site-specific
basis, by the Executive Secretary of the Utah Solid and Hazardous
Waste Control Board.
· Liquid or
semisolid infectious waste may be discharged to a sewage treatment
system that provides secondary treatment of waste if approved by
the operator of the sewage treatment system.
· Infectious
waste may be disposed in a permitted Class I, II, or V Landfill. Upon
entering the landfill, the vehicle operator must declare that the
load contains infectious waste and must follow any procedures required
by the landfill operator.
Small Health
Facilities and Small Quantity Transporters
Small health
facilities that generate 200 pounds or less, of infectious waste
per month and transporters that transport less than 200 pounds
per load are not regulated by the Utah Infectious Waste Requirements. Several
local health departments have requirements that apply to health
facilities that generate lower amounts of infectious waste and
transporters that transport small amounts of infectious waste. One
should contact their local health department for requirements that
may be different from the state rule.
OSHA Regulations
In addition to the state medical waste environmental
regulations there are some Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) rules that apply to medical/infectious waste. Utah is one
of 24 states operating an approved occupational safety and health
program. This program is operated by the Utah Occupational Safety and Health. OSHA rules
(Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens Standards) impact
various aspects of medical/infectious waste, including management
of sharps, requirements for containers that hold or store medical/infectious
waste, labeling of medical/infectious waste bags/containers, and
employee training. These requirements can be found in the HERC
section entitled OSHA Standards for
Regulated Waste.
Home Health
Care
Infectious waste
generated by home health care activities is not regulated by state
rules. Local health departments may have rules that differ from
the state rules. Contact them for specific rules. The following
procedures should be followed to minimize the potential risk from
exposure to infectious waste.