New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 20 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 9 - SOLID WASTE
Part 3 - SOLID WASTE FACILITY PERMITS AND REGISTRATIONS
Section 20.9.3.30 - PERMIT BY RULE REQUIREMENTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT HOUSEHOLD PHARMACEUTICAL TAKE-BACK PROGRAMS

Universal Citation: 20 NM Admin Code 20.9.3.30

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024

A. Any law enforcement household pharmaceutical take-back program that collects, stores, processes, transports or disposes of household pharmaceutical waste must comply with the following requirements:

(1) the law enforcement household pharmaceutical take-back program must maintain a registration with the New Mexico board of pharmacy;

(2) antineoplastic drugs should be handled, segregated and disposed of as hazardous waste under 40 CFR 261, Subparts C and D, and not as solid waste;

(3) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) P and U-listed hazardous pharmaceutical wastes, and D-list chemicals that cause a waste to exhibit toxicity characteristics when present above the maximum concentration level (e.g., arsenic D004, barium D005) should be disposed of at a permitted hazardous waste disposal facility, and not as solid wastes;

(4) collected household pharmaceutical waste shall not be disposed of by placing in drains, toilets, storm water drains, surface waters, on the ground, or in an unpermitted solid waste landfill;

(5) household pharmaceutical waste may not be incinerated within the state with other waste materials, construction and demolition debris, or special wastes;

(6) law enforcement household pharmaceutical waste collection events must retain an operating plan on file that contains the following:
(a) a description of how household pharmaceutical waste will be disposed of using a method found in Paragraph (7) of Subsection A of 20.9.3.30 NMAC;

(b) a description of the specific screening and acceptance criteria that ensure that only authorized household pharmaceutical waste is accepted and disposed of;

(c) the hours of operation and dates of law enforcement household pharmaceutical take-back program collection events, and details of any drop-box programs using secure bins outside the normal hour of operation;

(d) procedures for response to emergency situations, including equipment break downs, to ensure that stored household pharmaceutical waste, ash and encapsulated household pharmaceutical waste will be removed from the facility in a timely manner to avoid nuisances or hazards; and

(e) a hazard communication, health and safety plan for law enforcement household pharmaceutical take-back program personnel that includes safety procedures and the proper use of personal protective equipment;

(7) collected household pharmaceutical waste may only be disposed of in the approved methods listed below:
(a) at a registered high-temperature incinerator (furnaces that operate in the range of 1000°C - 2000°C) used for the destruction of hazardous waste, such as cement kilns;

(b) at a permitted infectious or medical waste processing facility;

(c) at a registered two-chamber incinerator that operates at a minimum temperature of 850° C, with a combustion time of at least two seconds in the second chamber;

(d) at a permitted landfill after the household pharmaceutical waste has been encapsulated in a plastic drum filled with a hardening medium such as PPC cement or a cement/lime mixture;

(e) at a transformation facility permitted to accept pharmaceutical waste; or

(f) an alternate disposal method at least as protective as any of the methods described in subparagraphs (a) through (e) of this paragraph and approved by the department.

B. The department must be notified both orally and in writing within 24 hours of an occurrence of a spill, fire, flood, explosion or similar incident at a law enforcement household pharmaceutical take-back program collection event.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico 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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