Amended in Assembly March 12, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 333

Introduced by Assembly Member Wieckowski

February 13, 2013

An act to begin insert amend Sections 117695, 117710, 117765, 117918, 118027, and 18240 of, and to end insert repeal and add Section 117630 of begin insert , end insert the Health and Safety Code, relating to medical waste.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 333, as amended, Wieckowski. begin delete Biohazard bags. end delete begin insert Medical waste. end insert

begin delete

Existing

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert begin insert end insert law begin insert , the Medical Waste Management Act, end insert regulates the disposal of medical waste begin delete and requires end delete begin insert , including requiring end insert specified biohazard materials to be disposed of in biohazard bags begin insert and requiring specified treatment for medical waste end insert . begin insert Transportation, storage, treatment, or disposal of medical waste in a manner not authorized by the act is a crime. end insert begin delete Existing end delete

begin insert Existing end insert law defines a biohazard bag as a disposable red bag that has the strength to preclude ripping, tearing, or bursting under normal conditions of usage and handling and that is constructed of material of sufficient single thickness strength to pass the 165-gram dropped dart impact resistance test, as specified, and certified by the bag manufacturer.

This bill would change the definition of a biohazard bag to a film bag certified by the manufacturer as having passed specified tests for tear resistance and impact resistance. The bill would require a biohazard bag to be red unless other colors are used to further segregate the waste stream. If additional colors are used, the bill would require the color assignments to be designated in the facility’s medical waste management plan.

begin insert

(2) Existing law defines a medical waste management plan as a document that is completed by generators of medical waste, as specified, on forms provided by the State Department of Public Health or a local agency.

end insert begin insert

This bill would define a medical waste management plan as a document that describes how the medical waste generated at a generator’s facility shall be segregated, handled, stored, packaged, treated, or shipped for treatment, as applicable, and would only require the plan to be on department forms if those forms are provided by the department or local agency.

end insert begin insert

(3) Existing law exempts from specified provisions of the Medical Waste Management Act a person who is authorized to collect solid waste and who unknowingly transports medical waste to a solid waste facility, incidental to the collection of solid waste.

end insert begin insert

This bill would exempt those persons from the entire act, with regard to that waste, and would require the solid waste transporter to contact the originating generator of the medical waste to respond to the facility to provide ultimate proper disposal of the medical waste.

end insert begin insert

(4) Existing law requires that animals that die of infectious diseases be treated as medical waste, as specified, if, in the opinion of the attending veterinarian or local health officer, the carcass presents a danger of infection to humans.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require the carcases of animals that have died of infectious diseases or that have been euthanized because of suspected exposure to infectious disease to be treated with a treatment technology approved by the department if, in the opinion of the attending veterinarian or local health officer, the carcass presents a danger of infection to humans. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 117630 of the Health and Safety Code
is repealed.

SEC. 2.  

Section 117630 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:

117630.  

“Biohazard bag” means a disposable film bag that is
impervious to moisture. The film bags that are used for transport
shall be marked and certified by the manufacturer as having passed
the tests prescribed for tear resistance in the American Society for
Testing Materials (ASTM) D1922, “Standard Test Method for
Propagation Tear Resistance of Plastic Film and Thin Sheeting by
Pendulum Method” and for impact resistance in ASTM D 1709,
“Standard Test Methods for Impact Resistance of Plastic Film by
the Free-Falling Dart Method,” as those documents are published
on January 1, 2014. The film bag shall meet an impact resistance
of 165 grams and a tearing resistance of 480 grams in both parallel
and perpendicular planes with respect to the length of the bag. The
color of the bag shall be red, except when other colors are used to
further segregate the waste stream, including for trace
chemotherapy wastes, laboratory wastes, and other subsets of the
waste stream. If additional colors are used other than the standard
red bag, the color assignments shall be designated in the facility’s
medical waste management plan.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 117695 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

117695.  

Medical waste that has been treated in accordance
with begin insert the provisions of the Medical Waste Management Act, end insert Chapter
8 (commencing with Section 118215) begin insert , end insert 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.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 117710 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

117710.  

“Medical waste management plan” means a document
that is completed by generators of medical waste begin insert that describes
how the medical waste generated at their facility shall be end insert
begin insert segregated, handled, stored, packaged, treated, or shipped for
treatment, as applicable, end insert pursuant to begin delete Sections end delete begin insert Section end insert 117935 begin insert for
small quantity generators end insert and begin insert Section end insert 117960 begin insert for large quantity
generators end insert , on forms prepared by the enforcement agency begin insert , if those
forms are provided by the enforcement agency end insert .

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 117765 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

117765.  

“Storage” means the holding of medical wastes, in
begin delete accordance end delete begin insert compliance end insert with begin insert the Medical Waste Management Act,
including end insert 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.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 6. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 117918 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

117918.  

begin delete Treatment of medical end delete begin insert Medical end insert waste shall be begin insert treated
using treatment technologies approved by the department end insert in
accordance with Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 118215).

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 7. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 118027 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

118027.  

begin delete Any end delete begin insert A end insert person who is authorized to collect solid waste,
as defined in Section 40191 of the Public Resources Code, who
unknowingly transports medical waste to a solid waste facility, as
defined in Section 40194 of the Public Resources Code, incidental
to the collection of solid waste is exempt from begin delete this chapter with
regard to that waste end delete begin insert the provisions of the Medical Waste
Management Act with regard to that waste. If a solid waste
transporter discovers that he or she has hauled untreated medical
waste to a landfill or materials recovery facility, he or she shall
contact the originating generator of the medical waste to respond
to the landfill or recovery facility to provide ultimate proper
disposal of the medical waste end insert .

begin insert

begin insert SEC. end insert begin insert 8. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 118240 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

118240.  

Notwithstanding Section 9141 of the Food and
Agricultural Code, animals that die from infectious diseases begin insert or
that are euthanized because they are suspected of having been
exposed to end insert begin insert infectious disease end insert shall be treated begin delete in accordance with
Section 118215 end delete begin insert with a treatment technology approved by the
department for that use end insert if, in the opinion of the attending
veterinarian or local health officer, the carcass presents a danger
of infection to humans.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. end insert begin insert 9. end insert   

end insert begin insert

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

end insert

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CORRECTIONS:

Text--Page 3.

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