In order to fully comprehend bio-hazardous medical waste management Delray Beach, we first need to define the concept of bio-hazardous wastes in general and where do they come from. Bio-hazardous wastes are the result of health care activities, such as treatment, diagnoses and inoculation. Basically, a waste that is infectious or has the potential to be infectious (think of blood, bodily fluids and similar) should be considered as bi-hazardous wastes. In addition to biological materials, including blood, blood products, body fluids and body parts, organs and tissue, used medical instruments like sharps (needles, syringes with needles attached, surgical scalpels, etc) are also bio-hazardous wasts and have to be treated very carefully as they can easily injure and infect a person.
Bio-Hazardous Medical Waste Delray Beach Regulations
Bio-hazardous medical waste management is regulated by a number of federal agencies in the United States, most notable of which are the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).
Bio-hazardous wastes were regulated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, which was a pilot program between March 1989 and March 1991. With the conclusion of the pilot program, EPA stated regulating bio-hazardous medical waste management under different Resource Recovery Act (RRA) requisites.
Hazardous Waste Regulations
Solid wastes fall under the RCRA if they are corrosive, flammable, react with water or air, are a heavy metal, or are a pesticide. Medical wastes are considered RCRA if they are listed as a toxic or very toxic chemical. Such chemicals include formaldehyde, formaldehyde, as well as certain chemo drugs.
Those facilities that produce hazardous wastes must adhere to the requirements for the correct treatment, storage and disposal of such waste. Following that, a facility that generates hazardous waste has to very precisely specify both the amount and the type of waste they produce. Finally, they also need to fill in a Notice of Hazardous Waste Activity with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Solid Bio-Hazardous Wastes
Bio-hazardous medical waste management is regulated by the EPA under the RCRA (Resource Recovery Act). By definition, any medical waste that needs to be disposed of is considered to be solid waste. That still doesn’t mean that they are bio-hazardous or anything like that, as solid wastes first need to be characterized in order to determine if they are hazardous or not.
Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act
The EPA introduced a set of performance standards and guidelines that have the task to lower toxic emissions in 1997. These regulations were especially targeted towards health care facilities, particularly hospitals, but also towards medical waste incinerators.
Clean Water Act regulates the discharge of waste water into public treatment works. A facility that disposes of water in Delray Beach with bio-hazardous materials in it has to comply with the federal pre-treatment standards, which apply to both existing and new sources of water pollution.
