Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 094-0641
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Public Act 094-0641


 

Public Act 0641 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 094-0641
 
HB0523 Enrolled LRB094 03776 RSP 33785 b

    AN ACT concerning safety.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Department of Public Health Powers and
Duties Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is
amended by adding Section 2310-252 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 2310/2310-252 new)
    Sec. 2310-252. Guidelines for needle disposal; education.
    (a) The Illinois Department of Public Health, in
cooperation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency,
must create guidelines for the proper disposal of hypodermic
syringes, needles, and other sharps used for
self-administration purposes that are consistent with the
available guidelines regarding disposal for home health care
products provided by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency. In establishing these guidelines, the
Department shall promote flexible and convenient disposal
methods appropriate to the area and level of services available
to the person disposing of the hypodermic syringe, needle, or
other sharps. The Department guidelines shall encourage the use
of safe disposal programs that include, but are not limited to,
the following:
        (1) drop box or supervised collection sites;
        (2) sharps mail-back programs;
        (3) syringe exchange programs; and
        (4) at-home needle destruction devices.
    (b) The Illinois Department of Public Health must develop
educational materials regarding the safe disposal of
hypodermic syringes, needles, and other sharps and distribute
copies of these educational materials to pharmacies and the
public. The educational materials must include information
regarding safer injection, HIV prevention, proper methods for
the disposal of hypodermic syringes, needles, and other sharps,
and contact information for obtaining treatment for drug abuse
and addiction.
 
    Section 10. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
changing Section 56.1 and by adding Sections 3.458 and 56.7 as
follows:
 
    (415 ILCS 5/3.458 new)
    Sec. 3.458. Sharps collection station.
    (a) "Sharps collection station" means a designated area at
an applicable facility where (i) hypodermic, intravenous, or
other medical needles or syringes or other sharps, or (ii)
medical household waste containing medical sharps, including,
but not limited to, hypodermic, intravenous, or other medical
needles or syringes or other sharps, are collected for
transport, storage, treatment, transfer, or disposal.
    (b) For purposes of this Section, "applicable facility"
means any of the following:
        (1) A hospital.
        (2) An ambulatory surgical treatment center,
    physician's office, clinic, or other setting where a
    physician provides care.
        (3) A pharmacy employing a registered pharmacist.
        (4) The principal place of business of any government
    official who is authorized under Section 1 of the
    Hypodermic Syringes and Needles Act (720 ILCS 635/) to
    possess hypodermic, intravenous, or other medical needles,
    or hypodermic or intravenous syringes, by reason of his or
    her official duties.
 
    (415 ILCS 5/56.1)  (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 1056.1)
    Sec. 56.1. Acts prohibited.
    (A) No person shall:
    (a) Cause or allow the disposal of any potentially
infectious medical waste. Sharps may be disposed in any
landfill permitted by the Agency under Section 21 of this Act
to accept municipal waste for disposal, if both:
        (1) the infectious potential has been eliminated from
    the sharps by treatment; and
        (2) the sharps are packaged in accordance with Board
    regulations.
    (b) Cause or allow the delivery of any potentially
infectious medical waste for transport, storage, treatment, or
transfer except in accordance with Board regulations.
    (c) Beginning July 1, 1992, cause or allow the delivery of
any potentially infectious medical waste to a person or
facility for storage, treatment, or transfer that does not have
a permit issued by the agency to receive potentially infectious
medical waste, unless no permit is required under subsection
(g)(1).
    (d) Beginning July 1, 1992, cause or allow the delivery or
transfer of any potentially infectious medical waste for
transport unless:
        (1) the transporter has a permit issued by the Agency
    to transport potentially infectious medical waste, or the
    transporter is exempt from the permit requirement set forth
    in subsection (f)(l).
        (2) a potentially infectious medical waste manifest is
    completed for the waste if a manifest is required under
    subsection (h).
    (e) Cause or allow the acceptance of any potentially
infectious medical waste for purposes of transport, storage,
treatment, or transfer except in accordance with Board
regulations.
    (f) Beginning July 1, 1992, conduct any potentially
infectious medical waste transportation operation:
        (1) Without a permit issued by the Agency to transport
    potentially infectious medical waste. No permit is
    required under this provision (f)(1) for:
            (A) a person transporting potentially infectious
        medical waste generated solely by that person's
        activities;
            (B) noncommercial transportation of less than 50
        pounds of potentially infectious medical waste at any
        one time; or
            (C) the U.S. Postal Service.
        (2) In violation of any condition of any permit issued
    by the Agency under this Act.
        (3) In violation of any regulation adopted by the
    Board.
        (4) In violation of any order adopted by the Board
    under this Act.
    (g) Beginning July 1, 1992, conduct any potentially
infectious medical waste treatment, storage, or transfer
operation:
        (1) without a permit issued by the Agency that
specifically authorizes the treatment, storage, or transfer of
potentially infectious medical waste. No permit is required
under this subsection (g) or subsection (d)(1) of Section 21
for any:
            (A) Person conducting a potentially infectious
        medical waste treatment, storage, or transfer
        operation for potentially infectious medical waste
        generated by the person's own activities that are
        treated, stored, or transferred within the site where
        the potentially infectious medical waste is generated.
            (B) Hospital that treats, stores, or transfers
        only potentially infectious medical waste generated by
        its own activities or by members of its medical staff.
            (C) Sharps collection station that is operated in
        accordance with Section 56.7.
        (2) in violation of any condition of any permit issued
    by the Agency under this Act.
        (3) in violation of any regulation adopted by the
    Board.
        (4) In violation of any order adopted by the Board
    under this Act.
    (h) Transport potentially infectious medical waste unless
the transporter carries a completed potentially infectious
medical waste manifest. No manifest is required for the
transportation of:
        (1) potentially infectious medical waste being
    transported by generators who generated the waste by their
    own activities, when the potentially infectious medical
    waste is transported within or between sites or facilities
    owned, controlled, or operated by that person;
        (2) less than 50 pounds of potentially infectious
    medical waste at any one time for a noncommercial
    transportation activity; or
        (3) potentially infectious medical waste by the U.S.
    Postal Service.
    (i) Offer for transportation, transport, deliver, receive
or accept potentially infectious medical waste for which a
manifest is required, unless the manifest indicates that the
fee required under Section 56.4 of this Act has been paid.
    (j) Beginning January 1, 1994, conduct a potentially
infectious medical waste treatment operation at an incinerator
in existence on the effective date of this Title in violation
of emission standards established for these incinerators under
Section 129 of the Clean Air Act (42 USC 7429), as amended.
    (B) In making its orders and determinations relative to
penalties, if any, to be imposed for violating subdivision
(A)(a) of this Section, the Board, in addition to the factors
in Sections 33(c) and 42(h) of this Act, or the Court shall
take into consideration whether the owner or operator of the
landfill reasonably relied on written statements from the
person generating or treating the waste that the waste is not
potentially infectious medical waste.
(Source: P.A. 92-574, eff. 6-26-02.)
 
    (415 ILCS 5/56.7 new)
    Sec. 56.7. No permit shall be required under subsection
(d)(1) of Section 21 or subsection (g) of Section 56.1 of this
Act for a sharps collection station if the station is operated
in accordance with all of the following:
        (1) The only waste accepted at the sharps collection
    station is (i) hypodermic, intravenous, or other medical
    needles or syringes or other sharps, or (ii) medical
    household waste containing used or unused sharps,
    including but not limited to, hypodermic, intravenous, or
    other medical needles or syringes or other sharps.
        (2) The waste is stored and transferred in the same
    manner as required for potentially infectious medical
    waste under this Act and under Board regulations.
        (3) The waste is not treated at the sharps collection
    station unless it is treated in the same manner as required
    for potentially infectious medical waste under this Act and
    under Board regulations.
        (4) The waste is not disposed of at the sharps
    collection station.
        (5) The waste is transported in the same manner as
    required for potentially infectious medical waste under
    this Act and under Board regulations.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/22/2005