BILL NUMBER: AB 333 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 12, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wieckowski
FEBRUARY 13, 2013
An act to amend Sections 117695, 117710, 117765, 117918,
118027, and 18240 of, and to repeal and add Section 117630 of
, the Health and Safety Code, relating to medical waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 333, as amended, Wieckowski. Biohazard bags.
Medical waste.
Existing
(1) Existing law
, the Medical Waste Management Act, regulates the disposal of
medical waste and requires , 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
Existing 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.
(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.
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.
(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.
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.
(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.
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.
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.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
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.
SEC. 3. Section 117695 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
117695. Medical waste that has been treated in accordance with
the provisions of the Medical Waste Management Act,
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.
SEC. 4. Section 117710 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
117710. "Medical waste management plan" means a document that is
completed by generators of medical waste that describes how the
medical waste generated at their facility shall be
segregated, handled, stored, packaged, treated, or shipped for
treatment, as applicable, pursuant to Sections
Section 117935 for small quantity
generators and Section 117960 for large
quantity generators , on forms prepared by the enforcement
agency , if those forms are provided by the enforcement agency
.
SEC. 5. Section 117765 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
117765. "Storage" means the holding of medical wastes, in
accordance compliance with the
Medical Waste Management Act, including 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.
SEC. 6. Section 117918 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
117918. Treatment of medical Medical
waste shall be treated using treatment technologies
approved by the department in accordance with Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 118215).
SEC. 7. Section 118027 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
118027. Any A 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 this chapter with regard to that waste
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 .
SEC. 8. Section 118240 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
118240. Notwithstanding Section 9141 of the Food and Agricultural
Code, animals that die from infectious diseases or that are
euthanized because they are suspected of having been exposed to
infectious disease shall be treated in
accordance with Section 118215 with a treatment
technology approved by the department for that use if, in the
opinion of the attending veterinarian or local health officer, the
carcass presents a danger of infection to humans.
SEC. 9. 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.
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