Armbruster D A
School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks Air Force Base, TX.
Clin Lab Manage Rev. 1990 May-Jun;4(3):160-6.
Negligent, unregulated hazardous waste management has resulted in real and potential threats to public health and safety. The federal government has responded with laws and regulations aimed at the producers of hazardous waste, including clinical laboratories. Clinical laboratory managers must understand how the requirements apply to their facilities and how to comply with them, or risk violating the law. The Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) imposes controls on hazardous waste management through the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) regulate these activities through 40 CFR and 49 CFR, respectively. 49 CFR specifies the characteristics of hazardous waste and lists more than 400 toxic chemicals, including several commonly used in clinical laboratories. Laboratories must conduct chemical inventories to determine if they should obtain an EPA identification number as a hazardous waste generator. Most clinical laboratories can operate satellite accumulation points and accumulate, store, transport, and dispose of waste in accordance with EPA and DOT regulations. Regulations pertaining to infectious waste, sure to affect many clinical laboratories, are being developed now by the EPA. The tracking system mandated by the federal government can be supplemented by state and local authorities and poses a significant regulatory challenge to clinical laboratory managers.
疏忽、无监管的危险废物管理已对公众健康与安全造成了现实和潜在威胁。联邦政府已通过针对包括临床实验室在内的危险废物产生者的法律法规做出回应。临床实验室管理人员必须了解这些要求如何适用于其设施以及如何遵守这些要求，否则可能面临违法风险。《资源保护与回收法》（RCRA）通过《联邦法规汇编》（CFR）对危险废物管理实施管控。环境保护局（EPA）和运输部（DOT）分别通过《联邦法规汇编》第40编和第49编对这些活动进行监管。《联邦法规汇编》第49编规定了危险废物的特性，并列出了400多种有毒化学品，其中包括临床实验室常用的几种。实验室必须进行化学物质盘点，以确定是否应作为危险废物产生者获取EPA识别号。大多数临床实验室可以运营卫星收集点，并根据EPA和DOT的规定收集、储存、运输和处置废物。EPA目前正在制定与感染性废物相关的法规，这肯定会影响许多临床实验室。联邦政府强制要求的追踪系统可由州和地方当局进行补充，这给临床实验室管理人员带来了重大的监管挑战。
