H-0356

AN ACT Relating to defining and handling treated infectious waste; adding new sections to chapter 70.95 RCW; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds and declares that:

(1) Infectious waste is generated and disposed in the state in a manner that may pose a threat to human health above and beyond infection hazards associated with the general municipal solid waste stream.

(2) While infectious disease transmission has not been identified from improperly disposed infectious waste in the environment, the potential for such transmission is present, based on identified exposures.

(3) It is a matter of state-wide concern that infectious waste be defined and handled in a manner that protects the health, safety, and welfare of the public, the environment, and the workers who handle the waste.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW to read as follows:

DEFINITIONS. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout section 3 of this act.

(1) "Dispose" means to engage in the final placement of treated or untreated infectious waste in a disposal site operating under a permit issued by a jurisdictional health department, state or federal agency.

(2) "Generator" means a person whose act or process produces infectious waste.

(3) "Infectious waste" means, and is limited to:

(a) "Animal waste," including waste animal carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals that were known to have been deliberately infected or inoculated with human pathogenic microorganisms during research.

(b) "Biosafety Level 4 disease waste," including wastes contaminated with blood, excretions, exudates, or secretions from humans or animals who are isolated to protect others from highly communicable infectious diseases that are identified as viruses assigned to Biosafety Level 4 by the Centers for Disease Control, National Institute of Health, Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, 2nd Edition, 1988. These viruses include Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever, tick-borne encephalitis virus complex, (Absettarov, Hanzalova, Hypr, Kumlinge, Kyasanur Forest Disease, Omsk hemorrhagic fever, and Russian spring-summer encephalitis), Marburg, Ebola, Junin, Lassa, and Machupo.

(c) "Cultures and stocks," including waste cultures and stocks of microbiological agents infectious to humans, human serums and discarded live and attenuated vaccines infectious to humans, human blood specimens, and laboratory wastes that are contaminated with these agents or specimens.

(d) "Liquid human body fluids," including waste liquid emanating or derived from humans including but not limited to human blood and blood products, serum and plasma, sputum, drainage secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, and amniotic fluid, that exceeds fifty milliliters per container, storage vessel, or plastic bag and cannot be and has not been directly discarded into a sanitary sewage system.

(e) "Pathological waste," including waste human source biopsy materials, tissues, and anatomical parts that emanate from surgery, obstetrical procedures, autopsy, and laboratory procedures. "Pathological waste" does not include teeth or formaldehyde or other preservative agents, human corpses, remains, and anatomical parts that are intended for interment or cremation.

(f) "Sharp waste," including waste hypodermic needles, syringes, IV tubing with needles attached, scalpel blades, and lancets that have been used in animal or human patient care or treatment in medical research.

(4) "Jurisdictional health department" means the city, county, city-county, or district public health department.

(5) "Local government" means city, town, or county.

(6) "Person" means an individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, consortium, joint venture, commercial entity, state government agency, or local government.

(7) "Treated infectious waste" means infectious waste that has undergone treatment.

(8) "Treatment" means incineration, steam sterilization, new technologies, including but not limited to needle disposal systems, or another method that changes the character or composition of an infectious waste so as to render the waste noninfectious.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 70.95 RCW to read as follows:

EFFECT OF STATE-WIDE DEFINITION OF INFECTIOUS WASTE. The definition of infectious waste set forth in section 2 of this act is the sole state definition for infectious waste within the state, and shall preempt definitions established by a jurisdictional health department or local government. The disposal of treated infectious waste is permitted at a public or private disposal site at which solid waste not constituting untreated infectious waste and not constituting dangerous waste as defined in RCW 70.105.010, may be disposed. No jurisdictional health department, local government, or private person may prevent the storage, transportation, or disposal of treated infectious waste or impose fees or rates on the storage, transportation, or disposal that differ from fees and rates applicable to solid waste not constituting untreated infectious waste or dangerous waste. A jurisdictional health department or local government may require generators to develop plans for management of infectious waste to assure appropriate handling of infectious waste.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. CAPTIONS. Section headings as used in this act, do not constitute any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.