BILL NUMBER: SB 486	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Simitian

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2009

   An act to amend Section 118285 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to medical waste.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 486, as introduced, Simitian. Medical waste: sharps waste.
   Existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act, administered by
the State Department of Public Health, regulates the management and
handling of medical waste, which includes, but is not limited to,
sharps waste. Existing law prescribes how sharps waste must be
containerized or stored.
   This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to
provisions relating to sharps waste.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 118285 of the Health and Safety Code is amended
to read:
   118285.  To containerize sharps waste, a person shall do all of
the following:
   (a) Place all sharps waste into a sharps container.
   (b) Tape closed or tightly lid full sharps containers ready for
disposal to preclude  the  loss of contents.
   (c) Store sharps containers ready for disposal for not more than
 thirty   30  days without the written
approval of the enforcement agency.
   (d) Label sharps containers with the words "sharps waste" or with
the international biohazard symbol and the word "BIOHAZARD."