117625-117780

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 117625-117780




117625.  Unless the context requires otherwise, the definitions in
this article govern the construction of this part.



117630.  "Biohazard bag" means a disposable red bag that is
impervious to moisture and has a strength sufficient to preclude
ripping, tearing, or bursting under normal conditions of usage and
handling of the waste-filled bag. A biohazard bag shall be
constructed of material of sufficient single thickness strength to
pass the 165-gram dropped dart impact resistance test as prescribed
by Standard D 1709-85 of the American Society for Testing and
Materials and certified by the bag manufacturer.



117635.  "Biohazardous waste" means any of the following:
   (a) Laboratory waste, including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
   (1) Human or animal specimen cultures from medical and pathology
laboratories.
   (2) Cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and
industrial laboratories.
   (3) Wastes from the production of bacteria, viruses, spores,
discarded live and attenuated vaccines used in human health care or
research, discarded animal vaccines, including Brucellosis and
Contagious Ecthyma, as identified by the department, and culture
dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix cultures.
   (b) Human surgery specimens or tissues removed at surgery or
autopsy, which are suspected by the attending physician and surgeon
or dentist of being contaminated with infectious agents known to be
contagious to humans.
   (c) Animal parts, tissues, fluids, or carcasses suspected by the
attending veterinarian of being contaminated with infectious agents
known to be contagious to humans.
   (d) Waste, which at the point of transport from the generator's
site, at the point of disposal, or thereafter, contains recognizable
fluid blood, fluid blood products, containers or equipment containing
blood that is fluid, or blood from animals known to be infected with
diseases which are highly communicable to humans.
   (e) Waste containing discarded materials contaminated with
excretion, exudate, or secretions from humans or animals that are
required to be isolated by the infection control staff, the attending
physician and surgeon, the attending veterinarian, or the local
health officer, to protect others from highly communicable diseases
or diseases of animals that are highly communicable to humans.
   (f) (1) Waste which is hazardous only because it is comprised of
human surgery specimens or tissues which have been fixed in
formaldehyde or other fixatives, or only because the waste is
contaminated through contact with, or having previously contained,
chemotherapeutic agents, including, but not limited to, gloves,
disposable gowns, towels, and intravenous solution bags and attached
tubing which are empty. A biohazardous waste which meets the
conditions of this paragraph is not subject to Chapter 6.5
(commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20.
   (2) For purposes of this subdivision, "chemotherapeutic agent"
means an agent that kills or prevents the reproduction of malignant
cells.
   (3) For purposes of this subdivision, a container, or inner liner
removed from a container, which previously contained a
chemotherapeutic agent, is empty if the container or inner liner
removed from the container has been emptied by the generator as much
as possible, using methods commonly employed to remove waste or
material from containers or liners, so that the following conditions
are met:
   (A) If the material which the container or inner liner held is
pourable, no material can be poured or drained from the container or
inner liner when held in any orientation, including, but not limited
to, when tilted or inverted.
   (B) If the material which the container or inner liner held is not
pourable, no material or waste remains in the container or inner
liner that can feasibly be removed by scraping.
   (g) Waste that is hazardous only because it is comprised of
pharmaceuticals, as defined in Section 117747. Notwithstanding
subdivision (a) of Section 117690, medical waste includes
biohazardous waste that meets the conditions of this subdivision.
Biohazardous waste that meets the conditions of this subdivision is
not subject to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of
Division 20.


117640.  "Common storage facility" means any designated accumulation
area that is onsite and is used by small quantity generators
otherwise operating independently for the storage of medical waste
for collection by a registered hazardous waste hauler.




117645.  "Container" means the rigid container in which the medical
waste is placed prior to transporting for purposes of storage or
treatment.


117650.  "Enforcement agency" means the department or the local
agency administering this part.



117655.  "Enforcement officer" means the director, or agents or
registered environmental health specialists appointed by the
director, and all local health officers, directors of environmental
health, and their duly authorized registered environmental health
specialists and environmental health specialist trainees, or the
designees of the director, local health officers, or the directors of
environmental health.



117657.  "Fund" means the Medical Waste Management Fund created
pursuant to Section 117885.



117660.  "Hazardous waste hauler" means a person registered as a
hazardous waste hauler pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section
25160) and Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 25167.1) of Chapter
6.5 of Division 20 and Chapter 30 (commencing with Section 66001) of
Division 4 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.




117662.  "Health care professional" means any person licensed or
certified pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 500) of the
Business and Professions Code; any person licensed pursuant to the
Osteopathic Initiative Act, as set forth in Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 3600) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions
Code, or pursuant to the Chiropractic Initiative Act, as set forth in
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1000) of Division 2 of the
Business and Professions Code; and any person certified pursuant to
Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797).



117665.  "Highly communicable diseases" means diseases, such as
those caused by organisms classified by the federal Centers for
Disease Control as Biosafety Level IV organisms, that, in the opinion
of the infection control staff, the department, local health
officer, attending physician and surgeon, or attending veterinarian,
merit special precautions to protect staff, patients, and other
persons from infection.
   "Highly communicable diseases" does not include diseases such as
the common cold, influenza, or other diseases not representing a
significant danger to nonimmunocompromised persons.



117670.  "Household waste" means any material, including garbage,
trash, and sanitary wastes in septic tanks and medical waste, that is
derived from households, farms, or ranches. Household waste does not
include trauma scene waste.


117671.  "Home-generated sharps waste" means hypodermic needles, pen
needles, intravenous needles, lancets, and other devices that are
used to penetrate the skin for the delivery of medications derived
from a household, including a multifamily residence or household.



117672.  "Industrial hygienist" means a person who has met the
educational requirements of an industrial hygiene certification
organization, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 20700 of the
Business and Professions Code, and who has had at least one year in
the comprehensive practice of industrial hygiene, as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 20700 of the Business and Professions
Code.


117675.  "Infectious agent" means a type of microorganism, bacteria,
mold, parasite, or virus, including, but not limited to, organisms
managed as Biosafety Level II, III, or IV by the federal Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, that normally causes, or
significantly contributes to the cause of, increased morbidity or
mortality of human beings.



117680.  "Large quantity generator" means a medical waste generator,
other than a trauma scene waste management practitioner, that
generates 200 or more pounds of medical waste in any month of a
12-month period.


117685.  "Local agency" means the local health department, as
defined in Section 101185, or the local comprehensive environmental
agency established in accordance with Section 101275, of a county
that has elected to adopt a local ordinance to administer and enforce
this part, pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 117800).




117690.  (a) "Medical waste" means waste that meets both of the
following requirements:
   (1) The waste is composed of waste that is generated or produced
as a result of any of the following actions:
   (A) Diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or
animals.
   (B) Research pertaining to the activities specified in
subparagraph (A).
   (C) The production or testing of biologicals.
   (D) The accumulation of properly contained home-generated sharps
waste that is brought by a patient, a member of the patient's family,
or by a person authorized by the enforcement agency, to a point of
consolidation approved by the enforcement agency pursuant to Section
117904 or authorized pursuant to Section 118147.
   (E) Removal of a regulated waste, as defined in Section 5193 of
Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, from a trauma scene by
a trauma scene waste management practitioner.
   (2) The waste is either of the following:
   (A) Biohazardous waste.
   (B) Sharps waste.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "biologicals" means medicinal
preparations made from living organisms and their products,
including, but not limited to, serums, vaccines, antigens, and
antitoxins.
   (c) Medical waste includes trauma scene waste.



117695.  Medical waste that has been treated in accordance with
Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 118215) and that is not otherwise
hazardous, shall thereafter be considered solid waste as defined in
Section 40191 of the Public Resources Code and not medical waste.




117700.  Medical waste does not include any of the following:
   (a) Waste generated in food processing or biotechnology that does
not contain an infectious agent as defined in Section 117675.
   (b) Waste generated in biotechnology that does not contain human
blood or blood products or animal blood or blood products suspected
of being contaminated with infectious agents known to be communicable
to humans.
   (c) Urine, feces, saliva, sputum, nasal secretions, sweat, tears,
or vomitus, unless it contains fluid blood, as provided in
subdivision (d) of Section 117635.
   (d) Waste which is not biohazardous, such as paper towels, paper
products, articles containing nonfluid blood, and other medical solid
waste products commonly found in the facilities of medical waste
generators.
   (e) Hazardous waste, radioactive waste, or household waste,
including, but not limited to, home-generated sharps waste, as
defined in Section 117671.
   (f) Waste generated from normal and legal veterinarian,
agricultural, and animal livestock management practices on a farm or
ranch.



117705.  "Medical waste generator" means any person whose act or
process produces medical waste and includes, but is not limited to, a
provider of health care, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section
56.05 of the Civil Code. All of the following are examples of
businesses that generate medical waste:
   (a) Medical and dental offices, clinics, hospitals, surgery
centers, laboratories, research laboratories, unlicensed health
facilities, those facilities required to be licensed pursuant to
Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200), chronic dialysis clinics,
as regulated pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200),
and education and research facilities.
   (b) Veterinary offices, veterinary clinics, and veterinary
hospitals.
   (c) Pet shops.
   (d) Trauma scene waste management practitioners.



117710.  "Medical waste management plan" means a document that is
completed by generators of medical waste pursuant to Sections 117935
and 117960, on forms prepared by the enforcement agency.



117715.  "Medical waste permit" means a permit issued by the
enforcement agency to a medical waste treatment facility.



117720.  "Medical waste registration" means a registration issued by
the enforcement agency to a medical waste generator.



117725.  (a) "Medical waste treatment facility" means all adjacent
land and structures, and other appurtenances or improvements on the
land, used for treating medical waste or for associated handling and
storage of medical waste. Medical waste treatment facilities are
those facilities treating waste pursuant to subdivision (a) or (c) of
Section 118215. A medical waste treatment method approved pursuant
to subdivision (d) of Section 118215 may be designated as a medical
waste treatment facility by the department.
   (b) "Adjacent," for purposes of subdivision (a), means real
property within 400 yards from the property boundary of the existing
medical waste treatment facility.



117730.  "Mixed waste" means mixtures of medical and nonmedical
waste. Mixed waste is medical waste, except for all of the following:
   (a) Medical waste and hazardous waste is hazardous waste and is
subject to regulation as specified in the statutes and regulations
applicable to hazardous waste.
   (b) Medical waste and radioactive waste is radioactive waste and
is subject to regulation as specified in the statutes and regulations
applicable to radioactive waste.
   (c) Medical waste, hazardous waste, and radioactive waste is
radioactive mixed waste and is subject to regulation as specified in
the statutes and regulations applicable to hazardous waste and
radioactive waste.



117735.  "Offsite" means any location that is not onsite.



117740.  (a) "Onsite" means a medical waste treatment facility, or
common storage facility on the same or adjacent property as the
generator of the medical waste being treated.
   (b) "Adjacent," for purposes of subdivision (a), means real
property within 400 yards from the property boundary of the existing
medical waste treatment facility.



117742.  "Parent organization" means an organization that employs or
contracts with health care professionals who provide health care
services at a location other than at a health care facility specified
in subdivision (a) of Section 117705.



117745.  "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock
company, business concern, partnership, association, limited
liability company, and corporation, including, but not limited to, a
government corporation. "Person" also includes any city, county,
district, commission, the state or any department, agency, or
political subdivision thereof, the Regents of the University of
California, any interstate body, and the federal government or any
department or agency thereof to the extent permitted by law.



117747.  (a) "Pharmaceutical" means a prescription or
over-the-counter human or veterinary drug, including, but not limited
to, a drug as defined in Section 109925 or the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act, as amended, (21 U.S.C.A. Sec. 321(g)(1)).
   (b) For purposes of this part, "pharmaceutical" does not include
any pharmaceutical that is regulated pursuant to either of the
following:
   (1) The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as
amended (42 U.S.C.A. Sec. 6901 et seq.).
   (2) The Radiation Control Law (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section
114960) of Part 9).



117750.  "Sharps container" means a rigid puncture-resistant
container that, when sealed, is leak resistant and cannot be reopened
without great difficulty.


117755.  "Sharps waste" means any device having acute rigid corners,
edges, or protuberances capable of cutting or piercing, including,
but not limited to, all of the following:
   (a) Hypodermic needles, hypodermic needles with syringes, blades,
needles with attached tubing, syringes contaminated with biohazardous
waste, acupuncture needles, and root canal files.
   (b) Broken glass items, such as Pasteur pipettes and blood vials
contaminated with biohazardous waste.
   (c) Any item capable of cutting or piercing that is contaminated
with trauma scene waste.



117760.  "Small quantity generator" means a medical waste generator,
other than a trauma scene waste management practitioner, that
generates less than 200 pounds per month of medical waste.



117765.  "Storage" means the holding of medical wastes, in
accordance with Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 118275), at a
designated accumulation area, offsite point of consolidation,
transfer station, other registered facility, or in a vehicle detached
from its means of locomotion.



117770.  "Tracking document" means the medical waste tracking
document specified in Section 118040.



117775.  (a) "Transfer station" means any offsite location where
medical waste is loaded, unloaded, stored, or consolidated by a
registered hazardous waste hauler, or a holder of a limited quantity
hauling exemption granted pursuant to Section 118030, during the
normal course of transportation of the medical waste.
   (b) "Transfer station" does not include any onsite facility,
including, but not limited to, common storage facilities, facilities
of medical waste generators employed for the purpose of
consolidation, or onsite treatment facilities.



117776.  (a) "Trauma scene" means a location soiled by, or
contaminated with, human blood, human body fluids, or other residues
from the scene of a serious human injury, illness, or death.
   (b) For purposes of this section, a location may include, but is
not limited to, a physical structure that is not fixed
geographically, such as mobile homes, trailers, or vehicles.



117777.  "Trauma scene waste" means waste that is a regulated waste,
as defined in Section 5193 of Title 8 of the California Code of
Regulations, and that has been removed, is to be removed, or is in
the process of being removed, from a trauma scene by a trauma scene
waste management practitioner.



117778.  "Trauma scene waste management practitioner" means a person
who undertakes as a commercial activity the removal of human blood,
human body fluids, and other associated residues from the scene of a
serious human injury, illness, or death, and who is registered with
the department pursuant to Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section
118321).



117780.  "Treatment" means any method, technique, or process
designed to change the biological character or composition of any
medical waste so as to eliminate its potential for causing disease,
as specified in Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 118215).