1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
a. "Infectious" means containing pathogens with sufficient virulence and quantity so that exposure to an infectious agent by a susceptible host could result in an infectious disease when the infectious agent is improperly treated, stored, transplanted, or disposed.
b. "Infectious waste" means waste, which is infectious, including but not limited to contaminated sharps, cultures, and stocks of infectious agents, blood and blood products, pathological waste, and contaminated animal carcasses from hospitals or research laboratories.
c. "Contaminated sharps" means all discarded sharp items derived from patient care in medical, research, or industrial facilities including glass vials containing materials defined as infectious, hypodermic needles, scalpel blades, and pasteur pipettes.
d. "Cultures and stocks of infectious agents" means specimen cultures collected from medical and pathological laboratories, cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial laboratories, wastes from the production of biological agents, discarded live and attenuated vaccines, and culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, or mix cultures.
e. "Human blood and blood products" means human serum, plasma, other blood components, bulk blood, or containerized blood in quantities greater than twenty milliliters.
f. "Pathological waste" means human tissues and body parts that are removed during surgery or autopsy.
g. "Contaminated animal carcasses" means waste including carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals that were exposed to infectious agents during research, production of biologicals, or testing of pharmaceuticals.
2. The department shall institute an infectious waste management program in cooperation with the Iowa department of public health. The program shall include all of the following elements:
a. Recommendations to the commission for revision of the rules which refer to infectious waste as hazardous or toxic waste.
b. Initiation, in cooperation with associations of health care providers of an information and education effort regarding the current requirements for special waste authorizations prior to the disposal of infectious wastes in a landfill. The effort shall include an attempt to compile an inventory of the number of generators and the volumes generated. The inventory shall be completed and a report regarding the results of the inventory submitted to the general assembly by no later than January 15, 1991.
c. Upon completion of the compilation of the inventory, the department shall recommend, for adoption by the commission, standards for on-site and off-site treatment of infectious waste. In developing standards, the department shall consider factors affecting the feasibility of alternative methods of treatment and disposal, including but not limited to the volume of infectious waste generated, the availability of treatment facilities within geographic areas, and the costs of transporting infectious wastes to treatment facilities. The standards shall include monitoring requirements for treatment facilities, and training requirements for operators of facilities. The standards may include requirements for management plans dealing with the plans for management of infectious wastes in compliance with adopted standards. In cases in which an individual generator of infectious waste is served by a person treating or disposing of the infectious waste, the person treating or disposing of the waste may prepare the plan for all generators served.
d. The department shall undertake a public information program, in conjunction with the Iowa department of public health and health care providers, to promote public understanding of the scope and features of state and private efforts to manage infectious wastes.
89 Acts, ch 245, § 1
Local approval of infectious waste incinerator projects; § 455B.305A
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