Lawmakers to Seek Stricter Regulations on Medical Refuse

Responding to a growing number of incidents of infectious medical wastes washing up on Southern California beaches or surfacing in garbage, lawmakers announced Friday that they plan to push for tighter regulations governing disposal of medical refuse.

Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) said at a news conference that he has introduced legislation intended “to make sure that we have a safe procedure that extends to every producer of hazardous medical waste and that imposes serious penalties for violations.”

Problems of possibly hazardous medical materials washing ashore have occurred in the East but hit home in Southern California last month when officials in Orange and San Diego counties identified materials found on beaches as medical waste and supplies linked to the military. The specific sources have not been determined.

In Orange County, small vials containing fluid were found on the beaches from Seal Beach to San Clemente and later identified as military-issued containers of antiseptic to be used in case of germ warfare.

2-Hour Session

State Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), meanwhile, announced at a special meeting in San Diego that he also plans to sponsor legislation to address problems in this area next year. Torres made his remarks after the meeting of the Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee, which he chairs.

During the 2-hour session, public health officials from San Diego and Orange counties called for elimination of a state exemption for small operations producing less than 220 pounds of infectious medical waste each month.

In the last 6 weeks, the two counties have experienced numerous incidents of medical waste materials washing up on area beaches.

Although San Diego County recently approved emergency regulations lifting the exemption in the county’s unincorporated areas, county health officials and lawmakers say the tighter standards should be put in place statewide to provide a more consistent approach to the problem.

The Hayden proposal’s most sweeping provision would have that effect by extending the present disposal requirements to small generators, such as small clinics, physicians’ offices and other unlicensed health facilities. Those who produce less than 220 pounds a month of potentially infectious medical waste such as hypodermic needles, vials of blood and gauze are exempt from a host of disposal and reporting requirements under state law.

Would Double Fine

The measure would also double the mandatory minimum fine to $2,000 and permit felony prosecution of anyone who knowingly disposes of medical waste illegally. It further seeks to toughen enforcement by giving local sanitation officials the power to inspect medical facilities’ waste disposal practices.

Hayden’s bill is expected to spark some opposition. A spokeswoman for the politically powerful California Medical Assn. declined to comment on it Friday. But Hayden indicated that he anticipated some resistance from clinics or physicians “who have established habits” for waste disposal that the law would prohibit.

“This is possibly the tip of the iceberg,” Robert Merryman, Orange County environmental health director, warned in an interview. “With infectious waste we can’t take a chance.”

But some public and private health officials suggested during the meeting that the current push for tighter regulations may be an overreaction to a problem that is more an aesthetic headache than a health risk.