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Why RMW Became Regulated

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Why Medical Waste Became Regulated

New Jersey enacted regulations for Regulated Medical Waste (RMW) in response to growing concerns about public health and environmental safety. In 1987, two significant beach closings took place along the Monmouth/Ocean County shore in New Jersey. These were the result of medical waste and other floatable debris washups, the source of which was never definitively identified.  Strict federal legislation, the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988 (MWTA), was subsequently enacted. Among the requirements of the MWTA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was required to: 1) list the types of medical waste to be tracked; 2) develop a uniform cradle-to-grave tracking system; 3) set standards, as part of the tracking system, for segregation, packaging, labeling, record-keeping and reporting; and 4) consider a small quantity exemption from tracking for generators of less than 50 pounds of regulated medical waste (RMW) per month.  In 1988, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) implemented a regulatory program to ensure that RMW is managed safely.

New Jersey’s medical waste regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:26-3A , federal EPA regulations, and United States Department of Transportation regulations governing the interstate transport of RMW, ensure that RMW is properly separated, stored, treated, destroyed, and disposed of/managed to ensure safety and compliance with all applicable public health and environmental standards, laws, and rules. As a result of these measures, incidents of improper or unsafe medical waste disposal are uncommon.

 

RMW Regulations

NJDEP, in conjunction with New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH), regulates medical waste pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:26-3A (RMW Regulations).  The RMW Program goal is to protect health care providers and workers, waste haulers, refuse workers, and the general public from potential health risks associated with RMW.

 

Classes

In New Jersey, RMW consists of seven classes, including Cultures and Stocks (of infectious agents and associated biologicals), Human Pathological Waste, Human Blood and Blood Products, Sharps (needles, syringes, etc.), Animal Waste (contaminated carcasses, etc. of animals that were exposed to infectious agents during research), Isolation Wastes (biological waste and discarded materials from patients with highly communicable diseases), and Unused Sharps. Each of these classes of RMW is required to be treated (to kill pathogens or disease-causing organisms) and destroyed (ground into small unrecognizable pieces) prior to disposal.

 

Treatment and Destruction

Treatment and destruction can be achieved, depending on the waste type, through autoclaving, incineration, or with an alternative treatment technology (e.g., microwave, chemical disinfection, electro-thermal, and steam-thermal treatment) approved by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and NJDOH per N.J.A.C. 7:26-3A.47.

 

Contact Information

For further information on the disposal of medical waste please contact NJDEP’s Regulated Medical Waste Unit at (609) 984-3438, or rmwgeneratorannualre@deptest.nj.gov.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]