Category: Medical Waste

Know Your Waste Accumulation Requirements

The EPA and an Alaska hospital recently entered into an Expedited Settlement Agreement and Final Order to resolve alleged Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste regulations violations. The EPA inspected the facility May 11–12, 2022, and identified several violations. This particular case highlights the importance of understanding waste accumulation requirements. Storage of hazardous […]

Insulin injection

Can Diabetic Employees Discard Insulin Needles in the Trash?

They are sharps, after all, so isn’t an extra layer of safety in disposal necessary? As experts at Safety.BLR.com® pointed out in an Ask the Expert question, the trash isn’t technically the proper disposal method—but by the same token, OSHA rules do not mandate that employers address syringes for personal use, which insulin injections would […]

EHS on Tap Episode 7: Navigating the Proposed Pharmaceutical Rule

On this episode of EHS on Tap, we plunge into EPA’s proposed Pharmaceutical Rule and what this rule will mean for the overall health of our freshwater resources as well as the consequences to health care facilities. On this podcast, we speak with environmental attorney and legal expert, Summer Nastich with Nastich Law in Berkeley, […]

Hazwaste Pharmaceutical Rule—What They’re Saying, cont’d

Last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule that would make significant changes to regulatory requirements for the management of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals. Comments were accepted until December 24, 2015. Yesterday we reviewed some comments from healthcare facilities. Today we will look at some comments from pharmaceutical manufacturers and retailers. All […]

Hazwaste Pharmaceutical Rule—What They’re Saying

Last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule that would make significant changes to regulatory requirements for the management of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals. Comments were accepted until December 24, 2015. Let’s take a look at what a sampling of stakeholders had to say about EPA’s proposed amendments to the management of […]