Regulated Medical Waste Management Policy

EH&S Program	Scope	Responsibility
Occupational Safety	University Wide	Environmental Health & Safety

Policy:

All regulated medical waste (“RMW”), as defined by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), shall be managed, stored, transported, and disposed of in accordance with federal and state regulations and institutional procedures.

Procedures:

General:

Registration: Laboratories that generate RMW and/or sharps must be registered with the Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS)

Training: All laboratory personnel who generate, handle, or transport RMW, or who supervise personnel who generate, handle, or transport RMW, must complete ENV 005 - Regulated Medical Waste training

PPE: Personal protective equipment must be worn when handling RMW. The minimum requirements are the same as for the process which generates the waste. This includes, at a minimum, nitrile gloves and lab coat.

Sharps:

Sharps must be disposed of in a puncture-resistant red sharps container. EHS provides reusable sharps containers at self-serve stations at:
1. Life Sciences Complex (near the loading dock)
2. East Campus (near the freight elevator, BST, 1^st floor)
3. MART (room 3M-0202).
4. Other locations generating sharps wastes can purchase disposable sharps containers through Wolfmart.
These disposable containers can be collected at regularly scheduled waste pickup locations or via an as-needed pickup request sent to hazwaste@stonybrook.edu.

Sharps containers have lines indicating when they are full. Do not fill sharps containers past this line. Do not fill any sharps containers with more than thirty (30) pounds of sharps waste. Do not attempt to remove any items that may have accidentally fallen into a used sharps container. You can contact hazwaste@stonybrook.edu for assistance.

Sharps containers must be kept closed except when adding the waste. Sharps containers must be securely closed prior to transporting for pickup. The reusable sharps containers have sliding locks on the sides of the lid. Do not use the locks until the container is full as you cannot reopen them once engaged. Many disposable sharps containers have caps or other forms of locking mechanisms which much be used prior to transport for disposal.

Regulated Medical Waste (solids and contaminated solids)

RMW must never be mixed with regular trash. Any regular trash that comes into contact with RMW becomes RMW. This leads to an increase in disposal quantities and costs to the University.

RMW containers with liners are provided for the campus through EH&S. These containers are reusable red plastic bins labeled with the biohazard symbol. These containers can be picked up during regularly scheduled waste collections, at self-serve locations in the HSC and MART buildings, or via an as-needed pickup request sent to HazWaste@stonybrook.edu.

Do not use other containers for RMW. If you need a container and cannot locate one contact EH&S via the email above.

RMW liners are pre-printed with Stony Brook University name and address (required by regulation) and should be placed inside the container prior to use. Once full, red liners must be tied closed before closing the container.

RMW containers must be kept closed except when adding the waste.

Do not fill any RMW containers with more than forty (40) pounds of waste.

For legacy cardboard boxes (no longer provided) - When full, carboard boxes must be sealed by folding each pair of flaps down flat and sealing with clear packing tape. Flaps must not be tucked under each other when closing the box. Masking tape, duct tape, or any other type of tape is not appropriate for closing these boxes.

Regulated Medical Waste (liquids)

Liquid wastes, including blood and body fluids, can be disinfected and then disposed of to the sanitary sewer. Disinfect the liquids with a 10% bleach solution for 8 hours prior to disposing of the liquid to the sink.

Regulated Medical Waste Spills

In the event of a spill of RMW:
1. Alert people in immediate area of the spill.
2. If you do not have the proper materials, or need assistance, call x333 (campus phone) or (631) 632-3333 (cell phone)
3. Put on protective clothing/PPE: closed lab coat, disposable gloves (double glove), disposable shoe covers, safety goggles, face shield, or respirator, as necessary.
4. Cover spill with paper towels or other absorbent materials beginning at the edges of the spill and working toward the center of the spill.
5. Pour a freshly prepared solution of disinfectant appropriate for the agent, (typically 10% dilution of bleach) around the edges of the spill, working your way to the center. Avoid splashing or creating aerosols when pouring the disinfectant.
6. Allow appropriate amount of time for the disinfectant to inactivate the material (i.e. 30 minutes for 10% bleach). Place any disposable protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves into Regulated Medical Waste (Red Bag). Disinfect any reusable PPE before reuse.
7. Once disinfectant has had time to work, replace any missing PPE and then use paper towels to wipe up the spill, working from the edges into the center. Dispose of in a Red Bag.
8. Soak fresh towels with disinfectant and wipe up spill.
9. Place used paper towels and disposable protective clothing/PPE in Red Bag and dispose of as regulated medical waste.
10. Be sure to thoroughly wash hands after decontamination.
For more information refer to the Biohazard Incidents & Emergencies page on our website at https://ehs.stonybrook.edu//programs/laboratory-safety/biological-safety/biohazard-spills-bsl1-bsl2