Mississippi

Infectious Medical Waste

Definition of Infectious Medical Waste
Managing Infectious Medical Wastes
OSHA Regulations
Contacts
Statutes, Regulations and Guidelines
More Information

 

Definition of Infectious Medical Waste

Infectious Medical Waste includes solid or liquid wastes, which may contain pathogens with sufficient virulence and quantity such that exposure to the waste by a susceptible host has been proven to result in an infectious disease. The following wastes are considered to be infectious medical waste:

• Wastes resulting from the care of patients and animals who have Class I and /or Class II diseases that are transmitted by blood and body fluid.
• Cultures and stocks of agents; including specimen cultures collected from medical and pathological labs, cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial labs, wastes from the production of biologicals, discarded live and attenuated vaccines, culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix cultures.
• Blood and blood products such as serum, plasma, and other blood components.
• Pathological wastes, such as tissues, organs, body parts, and body fluids that are removed during surgery and autopsy.
• Contaminated carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals that were exposed to pathogens in medical research.
• All discarded sharps which have come into contact with infectious agents.
• Other wastes determined infectious by the generator or so classified by the Mississippi Department of Health.

Managing Infectious Medical Wastes

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has not, at this time, developed comprehensive regulations regarding the transportation and management of infectious medical waste. However, the proper transportation, management and disposal of infectious medical waste in Mississippi are regulated under the general provisions of the Mississippi Solid Waste Law and the Mississippi Nonhazardous Waste Management Regulations.

The Mississippi State Department of Health regulates the on-site storage and management of medical waste through the Adopted Standards for the Regulation of Medical Waste in Health Care Facilities Licensed by the Mississippi State Department of Health. For information on the regulation of commercial management of medical wastes, contact the Solid Waste Management Branch at the Department of Environmental Quality.

The off-site management and disposal of infectious medical waste is regulated by the Department of Environmental Quality under the provisions of the Mississippi Non-hazardous Solid Waste Management Regulations and the Mississippi Solid Waste Law. Disposal of such waste at a landfill or other solid waste facility is addressed through specific conditions in that facilitys solid waste management permit. These permit conditions generally prohibit municipal solid waste disposal facilities from accepting infectious medical waste that has not been rendered non-infectious. State regulations also require that, prior to the establishment of any commercial facility in the State specifically for the storage, transfer, treatment or processing of infectious medical wastes, the owner or operator of the facility must obtain environmental operating permits form the Department for a solid waste management facility.

Treatment and Disposal of Infectious Medical Waste

Treatment or disposal of infectious medical waste shall be by one of the following methods:

• By incineration in an approved incinerator which provides combustion of the waste to carbonized or mineralized ash.
• By sterilization by heating in a steam sterilizer, so as to render the waste non-infectious. Infectious medical waste so rendered non-infectious shall be disposable as medical waste.
• Use of heat sensitive tape or other device for each container that is processed to indicate the attainment of adequate sterilization conditions.
• Use of the biological indicator Bacillus stearothermophilus placed at the center of a load processed under standard operating conditions at least monthly to confirm the attainment of adequate sterilization conditions.
• By discharge to the approved sewerage system if the waste is liquid or semi-liquid, except as prohibited by the State Department of Health.
• Recognizable human anatomical remains shall be disposed of by incineration or internment, unless burial at an approved landfill is specifically authorized by the Mississippi State Department of Health.
• Chemical sterilization shall use only those chemical sterilants recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Ethylene oxide, glutaraldehyde, and hydrogen peroxide are examples of sterilants that, used in accordance with manufacturer recommendation, will render infectious waste non-infectious. Testing with Bacillus subtilis spores or other equivalent organisms shall be conducted quarterly to ensure the sterilization effectiveness of gas or steam treatment.

Treatment and disposal of medical waste that is not infectious shall be by one of the following methods:

• By incineration in an approved incinerator which provides combustion of the waste to carbonized or mineralized ash.
• By sanitary landfill, in an approved landfill which shall mean a disposal facility or part of a facility where medical waste is placed in or on land, and which is not a treatment facility.

OSHA Regulations

In addition to the state medical waste environmental regulations there are some Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules that apply to medical/infectious waste. Mississippi is one of 26 states covered entirely by the federal OSHA program. This program is operated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA rules (Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens Standards) impact various aspects of medical/infectious waste, including management of sharps, requirements for containers that hold or store medical/infectious waste, labeling of medical/infectious waste bags/containers, and employee training. These requirements can be found in the VetCA section entitled OSHA Standards for Regulated Waste.

Contacts

Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality

For additional specific information on the Standards for the Regulation of Medical Waste in Health Care Facilities Licensed by the Mississippi State Department of Health, contact the Health Facilities Licensure and Certification Division of that agency at (601) 576-7300. For information on the regulation of commercial management of medical wastes, contact the Solid Waste Management branch at the Department of Environmental Quality at (601) 961-5171.

Statutes, Regulations and Guidelines

Nonhazardous Solid Waste Management Regulations & Criteria

More Information

In this section, you will find links to points of contacts at the Mississippi agencies responsible for regulation healthcare facility waste, links to the text of the regulation, and additional resources that you might find of interest on this topic.

Adopted Standards for the Regulation of Medical Waste in health care facilities licensed by the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Medical Waste Fact Sheet.