Amended in Assembly June 8, 2015

Senate Bill No. 225

Introduced by Senator Wieckowski

February 13, 2015

begin delete An act to add Section 42889.5 to the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling. end delete begin insert An act to amend Sections 117630 and 118275 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to medical waste end insert begin insert . end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 225, as amended, Wieckowski. begin delete Recycling: used tires. end delete begin insert Medical waste. end insert

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Existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act, regulates the disposal of medical waste, including requiring specified biohazard materials to be disposed of in biohazard bags and requiring specified treatment for medical waste. Transportation, storage, treatment, or disposal of medical waste in a manner not authorized by the act is a crime. Existing law defines specified terms for purposes of the Medical Waste Management Act, including “biohazard bag.” Existing law defines a biohazard bag to mean a film bag that is impervious to moisture. Existing law requires the film bags that are used for transport to be marked and certified by the manufacturer as having passed specified tests prescribed for tear resistance and for impact resistance. Existing law also imposes a specified labeling requirement on containers for nonradioactive pharmaceutical wastes that are not subject to a specified federal law and that are regulated as medical waste.

end insert begin insert

This bill would limit the application of the requirement that film bags used for transport be marked and certified by the manufacturer as having passed specified tests only to those film bags that are used for transport from the generator’s facility onto roadways. The bill would also make a clarifying change to the labeling requirement for containers for nonradioactive pharmaceutical waste.

end insert begin delete

Existing law, the California Integrated Waste Management Act, requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, when implementing the act, to promote certain waste management practices in the order of a specified priority, and to maximize the use of all feasible source reduction, recycling, and composting options. The California Tire Recycling Act, which is part of the California Integrated Waste Management Act, imposes a California tire fee on a new tire purchased in the state. The revenue generated from the fee is deposited in the California Tire Recycling Management Fund for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of programs related to waste tires. Existing law requires the department to adopt a 5-year plan, which is to be updated biennially, to establish goals and priorities for waste tire programs.

end delete begin delete

This bill would require the department, when adopting the 5-year plan and expending those appropriated funds, to ensure that the expenditure of funds pursuant to the California Tire Recycling Act, reflects the California Integrated Waste Management Act’s priorities for waste reduction and recycling.

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

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

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 117630 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

117630.  

“Biohazard bag” means a disposable film bag that is
impervious to moisture. The film bags that are used for transport
begin insert from the generator’s facility onto roadways end insert 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 begin delete D 1709, end delete begin insert D1709, end insert
“Standard Test Methods for Impact Resistance of Plastic Film by
the Free-Falling Dart Method,” as those documents were 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 yellow bags are used to
further segregate trace chemotherapy waste and white bags are
used to further segregate pathology waste.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 118275 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

118275.  

(a) To containerize or store medical waste, at the
point of generation and while collected in that room, a person shall
do all of the following:

(1) Medical waste, as defined in Section 117690, shall be
contained separately from other waste at the point of origin in the
producing facility. Sharps containers may be placed in biohazard
bags or in containers with biohazard bags.

(2) Biohazardous waste, as defined in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 117690, shall be placed in a biohazard
bag conspicuously labeled with the words “Biohazardous Waste”
or with the international biohazard symbol and the word
“BIOHAZARD.”

(3) Sharps waste, as defined in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b)
of Section 117690, including sharps and pharmaceutical waste
containerized pursuant to paragraph (7), shall be contained in a
United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved
sharps container that meets USFDA labeling requirements and is
handled pursuant to Section 118285.

(4) Trace chemotherapy waste, as defined in paragraph (5) of
subdivision (b) of Section 117690, shall be segregated for storage,
and, when placed in a secondary container, that container shall be
labeled with the words “Chemotherapy Waste,” “CHEMO,” or
other label approved by the department on the lid and sides, so as
to be visible from any lateral direction, to ensure treatment of the
biohazardous waste pursuant to Section 118222. Sharps waste that
is contaminated through contact with, or having previously
contained, chemotherapeutic agents, shall be placed in sharps
containers labeled in accordance with the industry standard with
the words “Chemotherapy Waste,” “Chemo,” or other label
approved by the department, and shall be segregated to ensure
treatment of the sharps waste pursuant to Section 118222.

(5)  Pathology waste, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(b) of Section 117690, shall be segregated for storage and, when
placed in a secondary container, that container shall be labeled
with the words “Pathology Waste,” “PATH,” or other label
approved by the department on the lid and sides, so as to be visible
from any lateral direction, to ensure treatment of the waste pursuant
to Section 118222.

(6) Pharmaceutical waste, as defined in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) of Section 117690, shall be segregated for storage
in accordance with the facility’s medical waste management plan.
When this waste is prepared for shipment offsite for treatment, it
shall be properly containerized for shipment in compliance with
United States Department of Transportation and United States
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) requirements.

(A) Pharmaceutical wastes classified by the DEA as “controlled
substances” shall be disposed of in compliance with DEA
requirements.

(B) Nonradioactive pharmaceutical wastes that are not subject
to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
(Public Law 94-580), as amended, and that are regulated as medical
waste are placed in a container or secondary container labeled with
the words “HIGH begin delete HEAT OR INCINERATION end delete begin insert HEAT” or
“INCINERATION end insert ONLY,” or with another label approved by the
department, on the lid and sides, so as to be visible from any lateral
direction, to ensure treatment of the biohazardous waste pursuant
to Section 118222.

(7) A person may consolidate into a common container, which
may be reusable, sharps waste, as defined in paragraph (4) of
subdivision (b) of Section 117690, and pharmaceutical wastes, as
defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 117690,
provided that both of the following apply:

(A) The consolidated waste is treated by incineration or
alternative treatment technologies approved to treat that waste
pursuant to paragraph (1) or (3) of subdivision (a) of Section
118215 prior to disposal. That alternative treatment shall render
the waste unrecoverable and nonhazardous.

(B) The container meets the requirements of Section 118285.
The container shall be labeled with the biohazardous waste symbol
and the words “HIGH begin delete HEAT OR INCINERATION end delete begin insert HEAT” or
“INCINERATION end insert ONLY,” or with another label approved by the
department, on the lid and sides, so as to be visible from any lateral
direction, to ensure treatment of the waste pursuant to this
subdivision.

(b) To containerize medical waste being held for shipment
offsite for treatment, the waste shall be labeled, as outlined in
subdivision (a), on the lid and sides of the container.

(c) When medical waste is containerized pursuant to
subdivisions (a) and (b) there is no requirement to label the
containers with the date that the waste started to accumulate.

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 42889.5 is added to the Public Resources
Code, to read:

42889.5.  

The department shall, when adopting the five-year
plan pursuant to Section 42885.5, and expending funds
appropriated to the department pursuant to Section 42889, ensure
that the expenditure of funds pursuant to this chapter reflects the
priorities for waste reduction and recycling specified in Section
40051.

end delete