Medical waste - Indiana

The EPA has not had regulatory authority over medical waste since the Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988 expired in 1991. Most states have since developed their own programs, resulting in significant differences for each state. A summary of this state’s requirements includes the following.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management regulates off-site management of infectious wastes by businesses (329 IAC 11). Infectious waste must be treated or incinerated before it can be disposed of in a municipal solid waste landfill. The regulations for solid waste processing facilities (which include medical or infectious waste treatment facilities) and transfer stations cover:

• 11-1 General provisions,
• 11-3 Exclusions,
• 11-6 Waste determination requirements,
• 11-8 Solid waste processing facility classifications and waste criteria,
• 11-9 Applications procedure for all solid waste processing facilities,
• 11-11 Permit issuance,
• 11-12 Operation approval and preoperational requirements,
• 11-13.5 Operational requirements,
• 11-14 Quarterly tonnage reports,
• 11-15 Miscellaneous requirements concerning solid waste management, and
• 11-16 Closure and post-closure requirements.

The Indiana Department of Health regulates infectious waste (410 IAC 1-3). The regulations cover:

• 1-3-21 Applicability;
• 1-3-22 Containment and labeling requirements and effective treatment, transport, or disposal requirements;
• 1-3-23 Written policy and procedure requirements;
• 1-3-24 Containment requirements;
• 1-3-25 Storage requirements;
• 1-3-26 Treatment requirements;
• 1-3-27 Protection in transport requirements;
• 1-3-28 Transportation off-site requirements; and
• 1-3-29 Penalties.

Related information

• Medical waste RegSense

Citations

• Federal regulation 40 CFR Part 261
• Federal regulation 40 CFR Part 262
• Federal regulation 29 CFR 1910.1030
• Federal Regulation 49 CFR Subchapter C
• Indiana Administrative Code Rule 410-1-3
• Indiana Administrative Code Rule Rule 329-11