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 Wyoming
Medical/Infectious Waste
Waste Categories
Regulation of Medical/Infectious Waste
OSHA Regulations
Statutes, Regulations and Guidelines
Contacts
Waste Categories
Wyoming classifies wastes generated by healthcare facilities
into four main categories:
Hazardous waste. This refers to a class of
wastes specifically defined in a federal law (the Resource conservation
and Recovery Act, or RCRA). These wastes contain certain toxic chemicals
or have certain characteristics that cause them to be a significant risk
to the environment and/or human health. Some certain chemotherapy waste
is hazardous waste. In Wyoming, hazardous waste regulations are enforced
by the Wyoming Department of Environmental
Quality.
Hospital waste. Waste discards generated at
a hospital, except unused items returned to the manufacturer. The definition
of hospital waste does not include human corpses, remains, and anatomical
parts that are intended for interment or cremation.
Medical/infectious waste. These are a special
subcategory of hospital wastes that present significant health risks
such as the potential for infectious disease transmission, and special
rules apply to them when they are incinerated.
Municipal solid waste. These wastes present
fewer environmental or health risks than medical wastes. Municipal solid
waste can be disposed of into dumpsters.
Categorizing Your Wastes
It is important that you categorize your facility's
waste accurately.
- Hazardous waste disposed of as infectious medical
waste or municipal solid waste, or infectious medical waste disposed
of as municipal solid waste are violations of the law and can result
in substantial penalties.
- Conversely, most hospital waste may be handled as
general solid waste and does not require special handling or treatment.
- Correctly identifying and segregating your medical/infectious
waste can reduce the cost of disposal. Infectious medical waste makes
up only a small portion of the total hospital waste stream. Some facilities,
such as long-term care facilities, generate hospital waste, but little
or no medical/infectious waste.
- Medical/infectious waste that is treated to specific
standards can be disposed of as municipal solid waste, provided that
no local rules prohibit it.
Use the guidance and references below to accurately
categorize your wastes. For additional help, see Contacts below.
Medical/Infectious Waste Definition
Medical/infectious waste is means any waste
generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings
or animals. The definition of medical/infectious waste does not include
hazardous waste; household waste; ash from incineration of medical/infectious
waste, once the incineration process has been completed; human corpses,
remains, and anatomical parts that are intended for interment or cremation;
or domestic sewage materials. Examples of medical/infectious waste include:
- Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated
biologicals, including: cultures from medical and pathological laboratories;
cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial
laboratories; wastes from the production of biologicals; discarded
live and attenuated vaccines; and culture dishes and devices used to
transfer, inoculate, and mix cultures.
- Human pathological waste, including tissues, organs,
and body parts and body fluids that are removed during surgery or autopsy,
or other medical procedures, and specimens of body fluids and their
containers.
- Human blood and blood products including:
- Liquid waste human blood;
- Products of blood;
- Items saturated and/or dripping with human blood;
or
- Items that were saturated and/or dripping with human
blood that are now caked with dried human blood; including serum, plasma,
and other blood components, and their containers, which were used or
intended for use in either patient care, testing and laboratory analysis
or the development of pharmaceuticals. Intravenous bags are also included
in this category.
- Sharps that have been used in animal or human patient
care or treatment or in medical, research or industrial laboratories.
- Animal waste including contaminated animal carcasses,
body parts, and bedding of animals that were known to have been exposed
to infectious agents during research (including research in veterinary
hospitals), production of biologicals or testing of pharmaceuticals.
- Isolation wastes including biological waste and
discarded materials contaminated with blood, excretions, exudates,
or secretions from humans who are isolated to protect others from certain
highly communicable diseases, or isolated animals known to be infected
with highly communicable diseases.
- Unused sharps including the following unused, discarded
sharps: hypodermic needles, suture needles, syringes, and scalpel blades.
Regulation of Medical/Infectious
Waste
Environmental Regulations
Wyoming does not have specific environmental regulations
applicable to healthcare facilities for medical/infectious wastes, except
where healthcare facilities operate an incinerator for processing medical/infectious
waste (see Wyoming Air Quality Standards
and Regulations Chapter 4, Section 5). These rules are enforced
by the Wyoming Department of Environmental
Quality.
OSHA Regulations
In addition to the state medical waste incinerator
regulations there are some Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) rules that apply to medical/infectious waste. Wyoming is one
of 24 states operating an approved occupational safety and health program. This
program is operated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the
Department of Employment. 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.
Statutes, Regulations
and Guidelines
Solid Waste
Management Rules (Chapter 1, General Provisions)
Solid Waste
Management Rules (Chapter 15, Solid Waste Rules and Regulations)
Wyoming Air Quality Standards
and Regulations Chapter 4, Section 5
Contacts
Wyoming Department of Environmental
Quality Solid and Hazardous Waste Division
Wyoming Department of Employment,
Occupation Health and Safety Division
Wyoming Department of Health
More Information
None located.
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