Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. Any
facility operated for the transfer or treatment of regulated medical waste that
is not exempt in accordance with this chapter, must hold a permit-by-rule from
the department prior to commencement of operations.
B. Each regulated medical waste management
facility permit-by-rule shall be limited to one site and shall be
nontransferable between sites.
C. A
new permit-by-rule is required when there is:
1. Any new regulated medical waste management
facility; or
2. Any change in
design or process of a regulated medical waste management facility that will
result in a different type of facility. These changes may include a change from
transfer to treatment facility, change of physical location, or change from
captive to non-captive facility.
D. The director may grant a variance from any
provision contained in this part to a permittee provided the requirements of
Part VI (9VAC20-121-400 et seq.) of this
chapter are met.
E. The following
regulated medical waste management activities are conditionally exempt from the
requirements of this part provided no open dump, hazard, or public nuisance is
created and wastes are managed in accordance with the requirements promulgated
by other applicable state or federal regulations or the conditions provided in
this section.
1. Household sharps may be
collected in a sharps drop box located in a public restroom, airport, train
station, health clinic, pharmacy, health department, police or fire station,
community organization building, permitted solid waste management facility, or
other location as a convenience to the public, as long as the following
requirements are met:
a. Sharps drop boxes
shall only receive household sharps from individual home generators who choose
to transport household sharps to the drop box. Sharps drop boxes shall not
receive waste from collection vehicles or other entities that have collected
waste from more than one real property owner;
b. All owners and operators of sharps drop
boxes must comply with the general handling, packaging and labeling, storage,
reusable container, spill cleanup, transportation, and Category A waste
management requirements for regulated medical waste outlined in Part III
(9VAC20-121-100 et seq.) of this
chapter; and
c. Collected sharps
shall be treated or disposed of as regulated medical waste in accordance with
this chapter. Untreated sharps shall not be recycled or disposed of in a solid
waste landfill or other solid waste management facility. Collected sharps that
are shipped offsite as part of a mail-back program shall be transported in
accordance with the requirements of 39 CFR 111 and 9VA C20-121-150 K.
2. Facilities that employ a
treatment method to treat regulated medical waste onsite but subsequently
package, label, and transport the waste offsite to be further managed as
regulated medical waste are exempt from permitting in accordance with this
chapter, but are subject to all other standards outlined in Part III
(9VAC20-121-100 et seq.) for the
management of regulated medical waste.
3. Treatment systems (such as an effluent
decontamination system) used to treat industrial or domestic sewage discharges
in compliance with federal, state, or local pretreatment requirements as
applicable. If the treatment unit separates solids from liquids prior to
discharge, the solids shall be managed as regulated medical waste unless it
meets an exemption in accordance with this chapter.
4. Combustion of up to 10% by weight of
regulated medical waste in a Virginia Solid Waste Management Regulations
(9VAC20-81) permitted solid waste incinerator, thermal treatment, or waste to
energy facility. Regulated medical waste must be an approved supplemental waste
or included in an approved material review process in accordance with the State
Air Pollution Control Board regulations and management of the regulated medical
waste prior to addition to the incinerator, thermal treatment, or waste to
energy unit must be in accordance with this chapter.
5. Temporary offsite storage of regulated
medical waste generated from an emergency cleanup for up to 72 hours, including
in a locked vehicle, prior to transporting directly to a regulated medical
waste management facility permitted to receive the waste for treatment,
transfer, or disposal, provided that all regulated medical waste is:
a. Generated from an emergency or unplanned
sudden or nonsudden spill or release of regulated medical waste requiring
immediate response in order to protect human health or the environment, and the
regulated medical waste was not generated by a health care professional or
nonstationary health care provider;
b. Collected from not more than one
individual regulated medical waste generator and is not received from
collection vehicles or other entities that have collected waste from more than
one real property owner;
c.
Managed, stored, and transported in accordance with all requirements of Part
III (9VAC20-121-100 et seq.) of this
chapter, except for the storage timeframe which shall be no more than 72 hours;
and
d. Not a Category A waste,
hazardous waste, or radioactive waste.
Statutory Authority: § 10.1-1402 of the Code of
Virginia; 42 USC §
6941 et seq.; 40 CFR Part
257.
