UNIVERSITY POLICY

SUBJECT:	HEALTH AND SAFETY		TITLE:		REGULATED MEDICAL WASTE
CODING:	00-01-45-15:00	ADOPTED:		08/01/91		AMENDED:	01/31/02

I. PURPOSE

To ensure compliance with New Jersey and Federal Regulated Medical Waste laws.

II. ACCOUNTABILITY

Under the direction of the President, the Vice President for Administration shall ensure compliance with this policy. The Executive Director of Physical Plant in conjunction with the Deans and the Vice Presidents shall implement this policy.

III. DEFINITIONS

Regulated Medical Waste see EXHIBIT.

IV. POLICY

A.       Requirements:

1.       A program of collection and disposal of regulated medical waste (RMW) shall be established by Physical Plant Department on each campus in accordance with all federal, state and municipal regulations.

2.       A responsible contact person will be designated and trained at each site where RMW is generated (generator site). All RMW generator sites will be registered with Environmental Services Management.

3.       All generator sites will comply with packaging, storage, transporter, marking, labeling, tracking form, generator exception reports, generator logs, and annual reporting requirements.

4.       Physical Plant Department will administer the RMW vendor contracts in compliance with applicable federal and state laws, including monitoring of vendor compliance, establishment of pickup schedules for each generator site and pickup procedure, maintenance of a master file at each generator site, maintenance of statistics for generator sites, processing of invoices for payment of vendor, and submission of IDT reports.

5.       All supplies and equipment associated with RMW program will meet all regulatory compliance, standardization and waste reduction guidelines.

6.       Each University department where employees are involved in the disposal of medical waste shall insure that the employees receive training in proper disposal procedures.

B.       Responsibilities:

1.       The Executive Director of Physical Plant is responsible for:

a.      developing a program of collection and disposal of RMW on each campus;

b.      assigning a responsible contact person at each site that generates regulated medical waste;

c.      registering RMW sites;

d.      administering RMW vendor contracts;

e.      recommending the type of supplies and equipment associated with RMW;

f.       performing periodic site inspections, to monitor compliance, and review record keeping, storage, packaging, labeling, marking, collection, exception reporting, and segregation procedures;

g.      providing RMW compliance training staff who generate RMW and Environmental Services staff who are responsible for RMW operational procedures;

h.      reporting instances of non-compliance to the appropriate Dean, (or) Vice President; and

i.       reporting on an annual basis to the Vice President for Administration pertinent information pertaining to program administration and compliance.

2.       The Deans and Vice Presidents are responsible for ensuring that all faculty and staff involved in the disposal of RMW have received appropriate training in disposal procedures.

V. EXHIBIT

Regulated Medical Waste Description per N.J.A.C. 7:26‑3A

By Direction of the President:

__________________________________
Vice President for Administration

EXHIBIT

Regulated Medical Waste Description per N.J.A.C. 7:26‑3A

WASTE CLASS	DESCRIPTION
Cultures and Stocks	Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated biologicals, including cultures from medical and pathological laboratories, cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial laboratories, wastes from the production of biologicals, discarded live and attenuated vaccines, and culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix cultures.
Pathological Wastes	Human pathological wastes, including tissues, organs, and body parts and body fluids that were removed during surgery or autopsy, or other medical procedures, and specimens of body fluids and their containers.
Human Blood and Blood Products	Liquid waste human products of blood; items saturated with and/or dripping with human blood; or items that were saturated with and/or dripping with human blood that are now caked with dried human blood including serum, plasma, and other blood components, and their containers, which were used or intended for use in either patient care, testing and laboratory analysis or the development of pharmaceuticals. Intravenous bags are also included in this category.
Sharps	Sharps that have been used in animal or human patient care or treatment or in medical, research, or industrial laboratories, including hypodermic needles, syringes (with or without the attached needle), pasteur pipettes, scalpel blades, blood vials, needles with attached tubing, and culture dishes (regardless of presence of infectious agents). Also included are other types of broken or unbroken glassware that were in contact with infectious agents, such as used slides and cover slips.
Animal Waste	Contaminated animal carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals that were known to have been exposed to infectious agents during research (including research in veterinary hospitals), production of biologicals, or testing of pharmaceuticals.
Isolation Wastes	Biological waste and discarded materials contaminated with blood, excretion, exudates, or secretions from humans who are isolated to protect others from certain highly communicable diseases, or isolated animals known to be infected with highly communicable diseases.
Unused Sharps	All unused discarded sharps, hypodermic needles, suture needles, syringes and scalpel blades.

Policy Manual Table of Contents

OPPM Home Page

UMDNJ Home Page