Legislation was enacted in the late 1980s after medical wastes were found among other wastes washing up on several East Coast beaches. Concern over the potential health hazards associated with medical wastes on some beaches prompted Congress to enact the Medical Waste Tracking Act (MWTA) in 1988, which required EPA to create a two-year Medical Waste Demonstration Program. For the purposes f this two-year program the MWTA defined medical waste and those wastes to be regulated; established a cradle to grave tracking system utilizing a generator initiated tracking form; required management standards for segregation, packaging, labeling and marking, and storage of the waste. There were also record keeping requirements and penalties that could be imposed for mismanagement.
For more information, see http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/industrial/medical/index.htm.
What is the Medical Waste Tracking Act (MWTA)?
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