Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Any health care facility using a
formulated mercury-added product, a fabricated mercury-added product, or a
mercury-added product must maintain a current and appropriate Material Safety
Data Sheet (MSDS), as defined in
42
U.S.C. 11049, for any elemental mercury
used.
B. Any health care facility
using a formulated mercury-added product, a fabricated mercury-added product,
or a mercury-added product must maintain a statement signed by its authorized
representative that certifies that its employees and other persons acting under
its direction or control:
1. will use the
mercury only for medical, dental, research, or manufacturing
purposes;
2. understand that
mercury is toxic, and will store, use, and otherwise handle such mercury in
accordance with Subsection C of this Section; and
3. will dispose of the elemental mercury,
formulated mercury-added product, fabricated mercury-added product, or
mercury-added product in accordance with Subsection C or F of this
Section.
C. Within 180
days of the effective date of these regulations, any health care facility using
a formulated mercury-added product, a fabricated mercury-added product, or a
mercury-added product shall develop, maintain, and comply with a Mercury
Management Plan (MMP) that is designed to eliminate or capture mercury in
waste. The MMP shall contain, at a minimum, the following requirements.
1. A baseline inventory of mercury-containing
devices and substances at the facility shall be listed.
2. A timeline for the reduction and eventual
elimination of mercury-containing equipment and chemicals, with the exception
of dental amalgam, shall be established.
3. Mercury management protocols for safe
handling, mercury spill cleanup procedures, disposal procedures, and education
and training of employees shall be established.
4. Discarded mercury-containing devices and
substances shall be recycled to the maximum extent practicable, and records
associated with such recycling shall be maintained at the facility for at least
three years. Discarded mercury-containing devices and substances:
a. shall only be offered for recycling to
treatment, storage, or disposal facilities that, if located in the United
States, are either:
i. permitted under 40 CFR
270, LAC 33:V.Subpart 1, or a RCRA-approved hazardous waste program of any
other state; or
ii. authorized to
manage hazardous waste by a state with a hazardous waste management program
approved under 40 CFR 271 ; and
b. shall not be offered for disposal by
incineration.
5.
Management and storage of discarded mercury-containing devices and substances
waste shall be protective of human health and the environment. Storage shall be
in structurally sound, leak-proof, sealed, labeled containers that are
impervious to mercury vapors. An example of a container meeting these criteria
would be a clear glass container. Glass containers shall be secured inside a
sturdy, padded box in order to prevent breakage of the glass and subsequent
release of mercury.
6. An
environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) policy for mercury products and a
process to regularly review mercury use reduction and elimination progress
shall be established.
7. All other
aspects of the MMP shall, at a minimum, conform to any best management
practices (BMP) developed by the American Hospital Association or the American
Medical Association or the American Dental Association or by Hospitals for a
Healthy Environment (H2E). The H2E BMP is known as the Mercury Waste Virtual
Elimination Model Plan.
D. Use of Dental Amalgam. Within 180 days of
the effective date of these regulations, any health care facility using dental
amalgam shall develop, maintain, and comply with a Dental Amalgam Management
Plan that is designed to capture mercury in dental amalgam waste and excess.
This management plan shall contain, at a minimum, the following requirements.
1. Chair-side traps and vacuum pump filters
shall be used for the purpose of waste amalgam capture. Such devices shall be
operated according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
2. Disposal of elemental mercury, dental
amalgam, and used, disposable amalgam capsules shall be minimized by
implementing practices that reduce mercury in waste, such as use of a variety
of amalgam capsule sizes to minimize non-contact amalgam waste.
3. Waste amalgam (amalgam sludge and contact
and non-contact amalgam) shall be recycled to the maximum extent practicable,
and records associated with such recycling shall be maintained at the facility
for at least three years. Waste amalgam shall be disposed of in accordance with
Paragraph C.4 of this Section.
4.
Management and storage of amalgam waste shall be in accordance with Paragraph
C.5 of this Section.
5. Water line
cleaners shall be of a type that will minimize dissolution of amalgam. Only pH
neutral, non-bleach, non-chlorine-containing suction line cleaners shall be
used. Water lines shall be cleaned daily on chairs where restorative dentistry
is performed and as necessary, or according to the vacuum pump manufacturer's
recommendations, on other chairs.
6. All other aspects of the Dental Amalgam
Management Plan shall, at a minimum, conform to the BMP for amalgam waste as
developed by the American Dental Association (ADA) and effective on June 2,
2006. The ADA publishes BMPs for the disposal of dental amalgam waste. The ADA
may be contacted through their website or at American Dental Association, 211
East Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611-2678; phone 312-440-2500.
E. Manufacturers of
mercury-containing devices and substances shall establish a convenient and
accessible collection system for formulated mercury-added products, fabricated
mercury-added products, and/or mercury-added products from medical facilities
in accordance with LAC 33:I.2717.
F. Mercury-containing devices and substances
that contain mercury in sufficient quantities to be considered a
hazardous waste as defined in LAC 33:V.Subpart 1, Hazardous
Waste Regulations shall be subject to that Subpart if such waste cannot be
recycled in accordance with Subsection C of this Section.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
30:2001 et seq. and, in particular,
2571.
