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Waste Management 98%, and dioxin will be reduced by 95%. 6. Are there alternatives to incineration for treating and disposing of medical waste? EPA's MWI standards and guidelines will affect the use of alternative technologies for treating medical waste. Because the new standards will be expensive to comply with, EPA estimates that few health care facilities are likely to install new MWIs and many facilities are likely to discontinue use of existing MWIs (we expect that 50% to 80% of the 2400 existing MWIs may be discontinued). Instead, facilities are likely to switch to other methods of waste disposal such as off-site commercial disposal or onsite disinfection technologies. here are many alternatives to incineration of this waste stream. Alternatives include thermal treatment, such as microwave technologies, steam sterilization, such as autoclaving, electropyrolysis and chemical mechanical systems, among others. EPA has jurisdiction over medical waste treatment technologies which claim to reduce the infectiousness of the waste (i.e. that claim any antimicrobial activity) by use of a chemical. This jurisdiction comes from the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act FIFRA . Companies wishing to make such claims must register their product under FIFRA through EPA's Office of Pesticide Antimicrobial Division. Many states have regulations requiring medical waste treatment technologies to be certified, licensed, or regulated. Individual states have their own requirements. Many states refer to a document called, Technical Assistance Manual: State Regulatory Oversight of Medical Waste Treatment Technologies, developed by the State & Territorial Association on Alternative Treatment Technologies. 7. Do other Federal Agencies regulate potentially infectious medical waste? Yes. Several Federal agencies have regulations which cover this waste stream. Refer to the list of several of the main ones on the front page of the list of regulating agencies. 8. Is EPA involved in any pollution prevention activities within the health care industry? One June 24, 1998, the EPA entered into a voluntary partnership with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and its member hospitals to: 1) virtually eliminate mercury waste generated by hospitals by 2005; (2) reduce overall hospital waste volume by 33 percent by 2005, and 50 percent by 2010; and, (3) jointly identify additional substances to target for pollution prevention and waste reduction opportunities. A number of workgroups have been convened to help achieve these goals. The workgroups include, but are not limited to: Baseline Data Collection, Model Mercury Virtual Elimination Plan, Model Comprehensive Waste Reduction Plan, Education Seminars, Awards Program and Clearinghouse of Best Practices and Service Providers. EPA Home I Priyacy_ rd_Security_Notice I Contact Us Last updated on Friday, December 6th, 2002 URL: http:/twww.epa.gov/epaoswer/other/medicaUmwfags.htm 0 Sutter Health Risk Management\2002—Page 3.5