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Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Chapter 82 — Solid Waste Disposal

§ 6992a. Listing of medical wastes

Statutory text

(a)

List

Not later than 6 months after , the Administrator shall promulgate regulations listing the types of medical waste to be tracked under the demonstration program. Except as provided in subsection (b), such list shall include, but need not be limited to, each of the following types of solid waste:

(1)

Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated biologicals, including cultures from medical and pathological laboratories, cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial laboratories, wastes from the production of biologicals, discarded live and attenuated vaccines, and culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix cultures.

(2)

Pathological wastes, including tissues, organs, and body parts that are removed during surgery or autopsy.

(3)

Waste human blood and products of blood, including serum, plasma, and other blood components.

(4)

Sharps that have been used in patient care or in medical, research, or industrial laboratories, including hypodermic needles, syringes, pasteur pipettes, broken glass, and scalpel blades.

(5)

Contaminated animal carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals that were exposed to infectious agents during research, production of biologicals, or testing of pharmaceuticals.

(6)

Wastes from surgery or autopsy that were in contact with infectious agents, including soiled dressings, sponges, drapes, lavage tubes, drainage sets, underpads, and surgical gloves.

(7)

Laboratory wastes from medical, pathological, pharmaceutical, or other research, commercial, or industrial laboratories that were in contact with infectious agents, including slides and cover slips, disposable gloves, laboratory coats, and aprons.

(8)

Dialysis wastes that were in contact with the blood of patients undergoing hemodialysis, including contaminated disposable equipment and supplies such as tubing, filters, disposable sheets, towels, gloves, aprons, and laboratory coats.

(9)

Discarded medical equipment and parts that were in contact with infectious agents.

(10)

Biological waste and discarded materials contaminated with blood, excretion, excudates 1 or secretion from human beings or animals who are isolated to protect others from communicable diseases.

(11)

Such other waste material that results from the administration of medical care to a patient by a health care provider and is found by the Administrator to pose a threat to human health or the environment.

(b)

Exclusions from list

The Administrator may exclude from the list under this section any categories or items described in paragraphs (6) through (10) of subsection (a) which he determines do not pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of, or otherwise managed.

Footnotes

  1. 1 So in original. Probably should be “exudates”.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 89–272 title II § 11002 · 79 Stat. 992

    Enacted · 42 U.S.C. § 6992a

    (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 11002, as added Pub. L. 100–582, § 2(a), Nov. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2951.)

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    (Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 11002, as added Pub. L. 100–582, § 2(a), Nov. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2951.)

0 of 1 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial

Credits

(Pub. L. 89–272, title II, § 11002, as added Pub. L. 100–582, § 2(a), , 102 Stat. 2951.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc42.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-09-09

USLM identifier /us/usc/t42/s6992a