title: AVMA guide for veterinary medical waste management.
abstract: Lawmakers have enacted a variety of laws and regulations to ensure proper disposal of certain potentially infectious or otherwise objectionable waste. The veterinary medical profession supports scientifically based regulations that benefit public health. In 1988, Congress passed the Medical Waste Tracking Act, a federal program that mandates tracking certain regulated waste. Several types of waste generated in the typical clinical veterinary medical practice are considered regulated veterinary medical waste. Discarded needles, syringes, and other sharps; vaccines and vials that contained certain live or attenuated vaccines; cultures and stocks of infectious agents and culture plates; research animals that were exposed to agents that are infectious to human beings and their associated waste; and other animal waste that is known to be potentially harmful to human beings should be handled as regulated veterinary medical waste. Regulated veterinary medical waste should be handled with care. It should be decontaminated prior to disposal. The most popular, effective methods of decontamination are steam sterilization (autoclaving) and incineration. Chemical decontamination is appropriate for certain liquid waste. Waste should be packaged so that it does not spill. Sharps require rigid puncture- and leak-resistant containers that can be permanently sealed. Regulated veterinary medical waste that has not been decontaminated should be labeled with the universal biohazard symbol. Generators retain liability for waste throughout the entire disposal process. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that waste transporters and disposal facilities comply with state and federal requirements. Veterinary practices should maintain a written waste management program and accurate records of regulated veterinary medical waste disposal. Contingency planning and staff training are other important elements of a veterinary medical waste management program. The guide includes a model veterinary medical waste management program; however, it does not address all the variations in state and local regulations. Veterinarians should obtain copies of state and local laws and regulations and modify AVMA's model plan to create an individualized practice plan that complies with federal, state, and local laws and regulations. State and local veterinary medical organizations should monitor state and local regulation to influence decisions that affect veterinarians and to keep their members informed of changing requirements. Veterinarians and veterinary medical organizations must stay involved so that regulations do not unfairly burden the veterinary medical profession.
authors.affiliation: AVMA Governmental Relations Division, Washington, DC 20005.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Brody
mesh_terms: D004181:Directories as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008506:Medical Waste; D012958:Societies, Scientific; D014481:United States; D014730:Veterinary Medicine; D014866:Waste Products
chemical_list: D008506:Medical Waste; D014866:Waste Products