Arizona Administrative Code
Title 18 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Chapter 13 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY - SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
Article 14 - BIOHAZARDOUS MEDICAL WASTE AND DISCARDED DRUGS
Section R18-13-1412 - Treatment Facilities; Application Requirements; Design and Operation
Universal Citation: AZ Admin Code R 18-13-1412
Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 38, September 20, 2024
A. An operator who applies for facility plan approval shall comply with subsections (1) and (2) as well as all of the requirements in subsection (B):
1. Submit to the Department the following
documentation:
a. Equipment specifications
that identify the proper type of medical waste to be treated in the equipment
and any design or equipment restrictions.
b. Manufacturer's specifications and
operating procedures for the equipment that describe the type and volume of
waste to be treated, monitoring data of the treatment process, and calibration
and testing of the equipment, providing specific details about the capability
of the equipment to achieve the treatment standards prescribed in
R18-13-1415.
c. Instructions for equipment maintenance,
testing, and calibration that ensure the equipment achieves the treatment
standards prescribed in
R18-13-1415.
d. Training manual for the
equipment.
e. Written certification
from the manufacturer stating that the equipment, when operated properly, is
capable of achieving the treatment standards prescribed in
R18-13-1415.
2. Submit
to the Department and have readily available at the facility, an operations
procedure manual describing how the waste will be handled from the time it is
accepted by the treater through the treatment process and final disposition of
the treated waste. The operations procedure manual shall include all of the
following:
a. Provisions for treating
biohazardous medical waste within 72 hours of receipt or refrigerating at
40° F. or less upon determination that treatment or disposal will not occur
within 72 hours. Nonputrescible biohazardous medical waste that is not
immediately treated may be stored for up to 90 days unrefrigerated.
b. A contingency plan if the treatment
equipment is out of service for an extended period of time. The plan shall
address the manner and length of time for storage of the waste. An operator
shall not store biohazardous medical waste more than 90 days. The plan shall be
based on the capacity of the treatment equipment to treat all waste at the
facility, including any backlog of stored waste and any new waste intake. If
the 90-day time-frame will be exceeded, the operator shall either stop
accepting waste until the backlog is treated, or contract with another
treatment facility for treating the waste.
c. Procedures for handling hazardous
chemicals, radioactive waste, and chemotherapy waste. The plan shall provide
for scanning biohazardous medical waste with a Geiger counter and handling
waste that measures above background level in a manner that complies with state
and federal law.
B. An operator of a department-approved facility shall comply with all of the following:
1. Have readily accessible written procedures
stating that biohazardous medical waste is to be accepted from a transporter
only if the waste is accompanied by a tracking document, and written procedures
that require compliance with both of the following:
a. The treater or the treater's authorized
agent shall sign the tracking document and keep a copy of the acceptance
documentation for the period required under the USDOT requirements, as listed
in
49 CFR
172.201.
b. If a biohazardous medical waste container
is damaged or leaking, improperly labeled, or otherwise unacceptable, a treater
shall do one of the following:
i. Reject the
waste and return it to the transporter or self-hauling generator.
ii. Accept the waste and transfer it directly
from the transporting vehicle to the treatment processing unit.
iii. If the waste will not be treated
immediately, repackage the waste for storage.
2. Assure that the facility is designed to
meet both of the following requirements:
a.
Any floor or wall surface in the processing area of the facility which may come
into contact with biohazardous medical waste is constructed of a smooth, easily
cleanable non-porous material that is impervious to liquids.
b. The floor surface in the treatment and
storage area either has a curb of sufficient height to contain spills or slopes
to a drain that connects to an approved sanitary sewage system, septic tank
system, or collection device.
3. Store biohazardous medical waste as
required in
R18-13-1408.
4. Comply with all of the following if the
treatment method is incineration:
a. Reduce
the incinerated medical waste, excluding metallic items, into carbonized or
mineralized ash by incineration.
b.
Determine whether the ash is hazardous waste as required under
R18-8-262.
5. Conduct any autoclaving
according to the manufacturer's specifications for the unit.
6. Use only alternative medical waste
treatment methods that achieve the treatment standards in
R18-13-1415(A).
7. Treat animal
waste, chemotherapy waste, and cultures and stocks as prescribed in
R18-13-1420.
8. Render medical
sharps incapable of creating a stick hazard by using an encapsulation agent or
any other process that prevents a stick hazard.
9. Keep records of equipment maintenance and
operational performance levels for three years. The records shall include the
date and result of all equipment calibration and maintenance. Operational
performance level records shall indicate the duration of time for each
treatment cycle and:
a. For steam treatment
and microwaving treatment records, both the temperature and pressure maintained
in the treatment unit during each cycle and the method used for confirmation of
temperature and pressure.
b. For
chemical treatment, a description of the solution used.
c. For incineration, the temperature is
maintained in the treatment unit during operation.
d. Any other operating parameters in the
manufacturer's specifications.
e. A
description of the treatment method used and a copy of the maintenance test
results.
10. Not open a
sealed biohazardous medical waste container prior to treatment unless opening
the container is required to treat the contents. Transfer of the entire
contents, when performed as part of the treatment process, is
permitted.
11. Clean the storage
and treatment areas as necessary to protect the public health and employee
health and safety.
C. The treater shall make treatment records available for Departmental inspection upon request.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Arizona may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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