{"operation":"document","citation":"00-0295","title":"Industry Research and Public Affairs — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2001-09-26","effective_on":null,"summary":"00-0295 response to Industry Research and Public Affairs concerning 173.134.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0295.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0295.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0295","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2000/000295.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nUS. Department\nof Transportation\nSpecial Programs\nResearch and\nSEP 2 6 2001\nAdministration\nAlice P. Jacobsohn, Esq.\nReference No.: 00-0295\nActing Director, Industry Research\nand Public Affairs\nMedical Waste Institute\n4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW\nWashington, DC 20008\nDear Ms. Jacobsohn:\nThis responds to your inquiry concerning the applicability of the Hazardous Materials\nRegulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to household waste, particularly waste generated in\nconnection with services rendered by a home health care provider. Please accept my apology for\nour delay in responding to your inquiry and for any inconvenience this may have caused.\nAs your letter notes, § 173.134(b) of the HMR provides an exception from HMR requirements\nfor any waste material, including garbage, trash, and sanitary waste in septic tanks, that is\nderived from households. The term \"households\" includes single and multiple residences, hotels,\nand motels. The intent of this exception is to exclude from regulation under the HMR waste\ngenerated by individual residences that is collected by local sanitation workers along with trash,\ngarbage, and other non-medical household waste.\nThe exception in § 173.134(b) applies to regulated medical waste (RMW) generated in\nconnection with services rendered by a home health care provider that is disposed of at a\nresidence with other non-medical household waste. However, you are correct that the exception\nin § 173.134(b) does not apply to RMW generated in connection with services rendered by a\nhome health care provider that is removed by the home health care provider for disposal\nelsewhere. In such cases, all applicable HMR requirements apply to the transportation of the\nRMW.\nWe appreciate your comments to Docket No. RSPA-98-3971 (HM-226). Be assured that your\ncomments will be given careful consideration as we develop a final rule.\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact\nthis office.\nSincerely,\nEland 7. Magalle\nEdward T. Mazzullo\nDirector, Office of Hazardous\nMaterials Standards\n173.134\n000295\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nEdmonson\nEIA\n:\n#etion 8173.134\nNSWMA\nRegulated Medical Waste\nMedical Waste Institute + 4301 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20008 • 202-244-4700\nOctober 10, 2000\nMs. Hattie L. Mitchell\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nResearch and Special Programs Administration\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nDear Ms. Mitchell:\nwriting to you in response to your letter asking for clarification. In the letter, you stated that household waste was exempt\nEdward Krisiunas, Director, Inscite, sent to me a copy of the letter you wrote on March 24, 2000 (see attached). I am\nfrom RSPA's regulated medical waste rules. However, your explanation on the definition of household waste is confusing\nexplanation such that I may update members on the rules.\nin light of recent activity at RSPA. As the manager of the Medical Waste Institute (MWI), I am requesting a further\nI understand that household waste is excepted from the rules under 49 CFR § 173.134. Under that rule, if a person\ngenerates regulated medical waste (RMW) in a residence, hotel, or motel, and disposes of that waste at the residence,\nhotel, or motel, then the exception applies. This would include a home care provider who enters a residence, provides\ncare, and disposes of the waste at that residence. However, my understanding through past conversations with Ed\ndefinition of household waste and as a commercial provider, that waste must be packaged and transported in accordance\nMazzullo, is that if a home care provider removes the RMW from the residence, then the waste no longer falls within the\nwith the rules.\nhealth care infectious waste in the definition of \"materials of trade\" (see 62 FR 1208, at 1209). At that time, RSPA was\nThis discussion was raised in RSPA's rulemaking, HM-200, when a commenter requested that the agency include home\ninfectious substances (63 FR 46843, at 46847) when RSPA asked for public comment on whether home health care\nnot ready to make a decision on the issue. This issue was re-raised in the advance notice of proposed rulemaking on\nproviders should be exempt from the rules as a material of trade. Perhaps, RSPA was focusing on the specifics of\nthe rules as stated in your letter to Mr. Krisiunas, then the entire discussion on materials of trade becomes irrelevant.\nmaterials of trade when it responded in these rulemakings. However, if home care providers are completely exempt from\nThere was not a suggestion by RSPA in either of the rulemakings or any other rulemaking to change 49 CFR § 173.134.\nadvance notice. MWI would like the agency to remove the exception altogether because we do not see a difference\nMWI requested that RSPA not allow a materials of trade exception for home care agency waste in its comments on the\nexisting exception creates a market imbalance and endangers public health. Although we understand some of the\nbetween a physician transporting infectious waste and a home care agency transporting that same type of waste. The\niven serious consideration and 1 have merely misunderstood the extent of your response to Mr. Krisiuna:\nforcement difficulties involved, MWI believes these problems can be resolved. I hope that our comments are bein\nI look forward to your clarification on the exception.\nSincerely,\nAlice P. Jacobschn\nSenior Manager, Waste Programs and Research\nAlice P. Jacobsohn, Esq.\nCC:\nEd Mazzullo, RSPA V\nTom Herbert, American Waste Industries, Inc. (Chair MWI)\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nus sportion\nMAR 24 2000\nEdward Krisiunas, MT(ASCP),\nReference No. 99-0106\nCIC, MPH\nDirector, Inscite\n115 Lyons Road\n•\nBurlington, CT 06013\nDear Mr. Krisiunas:\ntransported from households from regulation under the Hazardous Materials Regulations\nThis is in response to your letter concerning a provision in 49 CFR 173.134 that excepts waste\n(HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). You asked for a clarification of what constitutes household\nwaste. You also asked us to explain why regulated medical waste (RMW) that is transported\nby a courier from a physician's office is regulated under the HMR but it is not regulated when\ngenerated by a home health care provider and discarded in household waste. I apologize for\nthe delay in responding and any inconvenience this may have caused.\nHousehold waste is not subject to the requirements in the HMR. (See § 173.134(b)(1)(v).)\nIn 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an interim final rule (54 FR\n2326, 12339) that implemented a two-year demonstration program for regulating medica\nvaste. EPA excluded from regulation medical waste from households, including that generate\nby a home health care provider. I have enclosed a copy of the preamble discussion on\nhouschold waste that appeared in the EPA fual rule. We agreed with EPA's position. Wher\nwe amended our infectious substance requirements in the HMR and added a definition for\nRMW, we provided a similar exclusion for household waste (56 FR 66124, 66142).\nI hope this satisfies your request.\nSincerely,\nHathe z. Mitchell\nHattie L. Mitchell, Chief\nRegulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nEnclosures\n173.134\n990106\n-","truncated":false,"body_characters":7270}