BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 225
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Date of Hearing: June 30, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND TOXIC MATERIALS
Luis Alejo, Chair
SB
225 (Wieckowski) - As Amended June 23, 2015
Reflecting author's proposed amendments
SENATE VOTE: 24-11
SUBJECT: Medical waste.
SUMMARY: Makes technical changes to the Medical Waste
Management Act (MWMA). Specifically, this bill:
1) Makes technical changes to the definition for "biohazard
bag".
2) Restores current law by removing the reference to
controlled substances under what is excluded from the
definition of medical waste.
3) Restores current law requiring small and large quantity
medical waste generators to include in their medical waste
management plan steps for categorizing pharmaceutical
wastes for proper disposal that are either governed by the
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Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) or federal Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act.
4) Requires a hazardous waste transporter transporting
medical waste to maintain a completed shipping or combined
shipping and tracking document in compliance with United
States Department of Transportation (US DOT) requirements
when medical waste is transported on a public roadway, and
strikes hazardous waste generators as being required to
adhere to these shipping and tracking document
requirements.
5) Restores current law to include references to the
requirement that pharmaceutical waste classified as
"controlled substances" by the DEA be disposed of in
compliance with DEA requirements under the storage and
containerization requirements for pharmaceutical waste.
6) Revises the container labeling requirements for
specified medical wastes from "HIGH HEAT OR INCINERATION
ONLY" to "HIGH HEAT" or "INCINERATION ONLY".
7) Establishes this as an urgency act in order to ensure
that necessary and technical changes to the laws governing
the handling and disposal of medical waste are implemented
as soon as possible.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Authorizes the US DOT to enforce rules on the
transportation of medical waste on public roads and
highways. (Title 49 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations)
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2) Pursuant to the MWMA, requires the California
Department of Public Health to regulate the management and
handling of medical waste and authorize off-site medical
waste treatment facilities, oversee transfer stations,
approve alternative treatment technologies, and act as the
local enforcement agency in 25 jurisdictions where local
agencies have elected not to conduct their own
enforcement. (Health and Safety Code § 117600, et seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the author, the technical
changes SB 225 proposes to make to the MWMA are needed to
rectify and clarify issues raised through enforcement actions
following the major revision of the MWMA made by AB 333
(Wieckowski, Chapter 564, Statutes of 2014).
Medical Waste Management Act: The MWMA was created in response
to several incidents of medical waste washing up on San Diego
County beaches, as well as several reports of medical waste
being disposed of in dumpsters and trash bins. In 1989 and
1990, AB 109 (Hayden) and AB 1641 (Mojonnier) were ultimately
combined to form the MWMA to, according to the original
Legislative intent, "comprise a single, integrated, and
complementary approach to the storage, treatment,
transportation, and disposal of medical waste."
Recent MWMA reform efforts: Since enactment of the MWMA, the US
DOT, which preempts state law, has increased its regulatory
oversight of transportation of medical waste. Similarly, the
United States Postal Service requirements for the mail back of
medical waste also preempt state law. Those federal agencies'
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regulation of medical waste created conflict for California
healthcare facilities and placed them at risk of non-compliance
with federal statutes. To remove confusion over compliance
requirements, and reduce risk for non-compliance with federal
requirements, AB 333 codified federal requirements, consolidated
and modified definitions in the MWMA, among other changes.
Biohazard bags: Biohazard bags are defined under the MWMA as
disposable film bags used to transport biohazardous materials.
Under current law, these bags must be certified that they meet
two American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards
for tear resistance and impact resistance, as well as other
codified requirements.
According to the author, the need to revise the definition
arises from the fact the US DOT does not have a requirement for
bags used to collect medical waste within a facility. The US DOT
only requires use of a US DOT-approved biohazard waste bag when
the bags are packaged into a shipping container for
transportation off-site to a treatment facility. For generators
of medical waste that use biohazard waste bags, the change from
the ASTM standard D 1709 to a US DOT-approved bag will result in
a 50- to 70-percent cost increase of the biohazard bags. As the
MWMA is currently written, medical waste generators that ship
biohazard waste off-site for treatment typically package all of
their medical waste from smaller waste collection containers
into a larger container that is lined with a US DOT-approved
bag, which results in medical waste being packaged in several US
DOT-approved bags when only one is bag required by the US DOT.
Shipping and tracking documents: Since the US DOT is responsible
for regulating the hauling of waste on roadways, there is no
need for a generator to maintain tracking records if the US DOT
requires only the hauler to do so. Currently, generators
maintain shipping records as required by the US DOT for shipping
medical waste. In addition, generators receive a receipt of
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treatment from the treatment and disposal facility that received
and treated the waste. Including the requirement that generators
must also manage a tracking document is duplicative when
existing documents used by generators already serve as a
mechanism to track and manage off-site medical waste treatment
and disposal.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Hospital Association
Stericycle
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Paige Brokaw / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
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