The following definitions are applicable to this Article 25.
(a) "Act" means the Medical Waste Management Act, Chapter 6.1, Division 20, California Health and Safety Code.
(b) "Biohazard bag" means a disposable red bag which is impervious to moisture and has a strength sufficient to preclude ripping, tearing, or bursting under normal conditions of usage and handling of the waste-filled bag. A biohazard bag shall be constructed of material of sufficient single thickness strength to pass the 165-gram dropped dart impact resistance test as prescribed by Standard D 1709-85 of the American Society for Testing and Materials and certified by the bag manufacturer.
(c) "Biohazardous waste" means any of the following:
(1) Laboratory waste, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Human or animal specimen cultures from medical and pathological laboratories,
(B) Cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial laboratories,
(C) Wastes from the production of bacteria, viruses, or the use of spores, discarded live and attenuated vaccines, and culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix cultures;
(2) Waste containing any microbiologic specimens sent to a laboratory for analysis;
(3) Human surgery specimens or tissues removed at surgery or autopsy, which are suspected by the attending physician, surgeon or dentist of being contaminated with infectious agents known to be contagious to humans. Human surgery specimens or tissues which have been fixed with formaldehyde or other fixatives are not biohazardous waste;
(4) Animal parts, tissues, fluids, or carcasses suspected by the attending veterinarian of being contaminated with infectious agents known to be contagious to humans;
(5) Waste, which at the point of transport from the generator's site, at the point of disposal, or thereafter, contains recognizable fluid blood, fluid blood products, containers, or equipment containing blood that is fluid or blood from animals known to be infected with diseases which are highly communicable to humans;
(6) Waste containing discarded materials contaminated with excretion, exudate, or secretions from humans who are required to be isolated by the infection control staff, the attending physician or surgeon, the attending veterinarian, or the Director, to protect others from highly communicable diseases or isolated animals known to be infected with diseases which are highly communicable to humans.
(d) "Common storage facility" means any on-site designated accumulation area maintained in accordance with this Chapter, used by small quantity generators otherwise operating independently, for the storage of medical waste for collection by a hazardous waste hauler.
(e) "Common storage facility permit" means a permit issued by the Director regulating the operation of a common storage facility.
(f) "Container" means the bag or rigid container in which medical waste is placed prior to transporting for purposes of storage or treatment.
(g) "Department" means the California Department of Health Services, Environmental Health Division.
(h) "Director" means the Director of Public Health or his designee, including any agents or registered environmental health specialists appointed by the Director.
(i) "Hazardous waste hauler" means a person registered as a hazardous waste hauler pursuant to Division 20, Chapter 6.5, Articles 6 (commencing with Section 25160) and 6.5 (commencing with Section 25167.1) of the California Health and Safety Code, and Chapter 30 (commencing with Section 66001) of Division 4 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
(j) "Highly communicable diseases" means diseases, such as those caused by organisms classified by the Federal Centers for Disease Control as Biosafety Level IV organisms, which, in the opinion of the Director, the infection control staff, the department, attending physician, surgeon, or attending veterinarian, merit special precautions to protect staff, patients, and other persons from infection. "Highly communicable diseases" does not include diseases such as the common cold, influenza, or other diseases not representing a significant danger to nonimmunocompromised persons.
(k) "Household waste" means any material, including garbage, trash, and sanitary wastes in septic tanks and medical waste, which is derived from households, farms or ranches.
(l) "Infectious agent" means a type of microorganism, bacteria, mold, parasite, or virus which normally causes, or significantly contributes to the cause of, increased morbidity or mortality of human beings.
(m) "Large quantity generator" means a medical waste generator that generates 200 or more pounds per month of medical waste.
(n) (1) "Medical waste" means waste which meets both of the following requirements:
(A) The waste is composed of waste which is generated or produced as a result of any of the following:
(i) Diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals,
(ii) Research pertaining to the activities specified in subparagraph (i),
(iii) The production or testing of biologicals;
(B) The waste is any of the following:
(i) Biohazardous waste,
(ii) Sharps waste.
(2) Medical waste may contain infectious agents.
(3) For purposes of this subsection, "biologicals" means medicinal preparations made from living organisms and their products, including, but not limited to, serums, vaccines, antigens and antitoxins.
(4) Medical waste which has been treated in accordance with Section 1511 and which is not otherwise hazardous, shall be considered solid waste as defined in Section 40191 of the California Public Resources Code, and not medical waste. Sharps waste rendered noninfectious pursuant to Paragraph (a)(4) of Section 1511 may be disposed of as solid waste if the waste is not otherwise hazardous.
(5) Medical waste does not include any of the following:
(A) Waste containing microbiological cultures used in food processing and biotechnology and any containers or devices used in the preparation and handling of these cultures, that is not considered to be an infectious agent pursuant to Subsection 1502(j);
(B) Urine, feces, saliva, sputum, nasal secretions, sweat, tears, and vomitus, unless they contain fluid blood, except as defined in Paragraph (c)(6) of Section 1502;
(C) Waste which is not biohazardous, such as paper towels, paper products, articles containing nonfluid blood, and other medical solid waste products commonly found in the facilities of medical waste generators;
(D) Hazardous waste, radioactive waste, or household waste;
(E) Waste generated from normal and legal veterinarian agricultural, and animal livestock management practices on a farm or ranch.
(o) "Medical waste generator" means any person, whose act or process produces medical waste and includes, but is not limited to, a provider of health care as defined in Subdivision (a) of Section 56.05 of the Civil Code. All of the following are examples of businesses which generate medical waste:
(1) Medical and dental offices, clinics, hospitals, surgery centers, laboratories, research laboratories, other health facilities required to be licensed pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200), and unlicensed facilities;
(2) Veterinary offices, clinics, and hospitals;
(3) Pet shops.
(q) "Medical waste permit" means a permit issued by the Director to a medical waste treatment facility.
(r) "Medical waste registration" means a registration issued by the Director to a medical waste generator.
(s) "Medical waste treatment facility" means all land and structures, and other adjacent land, including appurtenances or improvements thereon, used for treating medical waste or for associated handling and storage of medical waste. "Adjacent," for purposes of the preceding sentence, means real property within 400 yards from the property boundary of the existing medical waste treatment facility. Medical waste treatment facilities are those facilities treating waste pursuant to Paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(3) of Section 1511. A medical waste treatment method approved pursuant to Paragraph (a)(4) of Section 1511 may be designated as a medical waste treatment facility by the Director if approved by the Department.
(t) "Mixed waste" means mixtures of medical and nonmedical waste. Mixed waste is medical waste, except for all of the following:
(1) Medical waste and hazardous waste is hazardous waste and is subject to regulation as specified in the statutes and regulations applicable to hazardous waste;
(2) Medical waste and radioactive waste is radioactive waste and is subject to regulation as specified in the statutes and regulations applicable to radioactive waste;
(3) Medical waste, hazardous waste, and radioactive waste is radioactive mixed waste and is subject to regulation as specified in the statutes and regulations applicable to hazardous waste and radioactive waste.
(u) "Off-site" means any location which is not on-site.
(v) "On-site," unless otherwise specified, means a medical waste treatment facility or a common storage facility on the same or adjacent property as the generator of the medical waste being treated or stored. "Adjacent," for purposes of the preceding sentence, means real property within 400 yards from the property boundary of the medical waste generator.
(w) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, business concern, corporation, including but not limited to, a government corporation, partnership, and association. "Person" also includes any city, county, district, commission, the State or any division, agency, or political subdivision thereof, the Regents of the University of California, any interstate body, and the Federal Government or any Department or agency thereof to the extent permitted by law.
(x) "Sharps container" means a rigid puncture-resistant container which, when sealed, is leak resistant and cannot be reopened without great difficulty.
(y) "Sharps waste" means any device having acute rigid corners, edges, or protuberances capable of cutting or piercing, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Hypodermic needles, syringes, blades, and needles with attached tubing;
(2) Broken glass items, such as Pasteur pipettes and blood vials contaminated with other medical waste.
(z) "Small quantity generator" means a medical waste generator that generates less than 200 pounds per month of medical waste.
(aa) "Storage" means the holding of medical wastes at a designated accumulation area, as specified in Section 1510.
(bb) "Tracking document" means a medical waste tracking document prescribed by the Director or substantially similar thereto, which contains the following information regarding each load of medical waste being transported off-site:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the hazardous waste hauler, unless the medical waste is being transported pursuant to a Section 1506 hauling exemption;
(2) The type and quantity of medical waste transported;
(3) The name of the medical waste generator;
(4) The name, address, telephone number, and the signature of the authorized representative of the permitted treatment or transfer station receiving the medical waste.
(cc) "Transfer station" means any off-site location where medical waste is loaded, unloaded, or stored during the normal course of transportation of the medical waste. "Transfer station" does not include common storage facilities, large quantity generators used for consolidation of medical waste, or on-site treatment facilities. Transfer stations shall be permitted by the Department pursuant to the Act and this Article.
(dd) "Treatment" means any method, technique, or process designed to change the biological character or composition of any medical waste so as to eliminate its potential for causing disease, as specified in Section 1511.
(Added by Ord. 375-92, App. 12/23/92)