West Virginia Code 20-5J-5 – Designation of secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources as the state infectious medical waste management primary agency; prohibitions; requiring permits
(a) The secretary is hereby designated as the infectious medical waste management primary agency for this state and is hereby authorized to take all action necessary or appropriate to secure to this state the benefits of this legislation pertaining to infectious medical waste. In carrying out the purposes of this article, the secretary is hereby authorized to cooperate with agencies of the federal government, this state and other states, and other interested persons, in all matters relating to medical waste management.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 20-5J-5
- Agency: means any branch, department or unit of the state government, however designated or constituted. See West Virginia Code 20-1-2
- Disposal: means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking or placing of any infectious medical waste into or on any land or water so that such waste, or any constituent thereof, may be emitted into the air, discharged into any waters, including groundwater, or otherwise enter into the environment. See West Virginia Code 20-5J-3
- Infectious medical waste: means medical waste identified as capable of producing an infectious disease. See West Virginia Code 20-5J-3
- Medical waste: means infectious and noninfectious solid waste generated in the course of the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals, or in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biologicals. See West Virginia Code 20-5J-3
- Person: except as otherwise defined elsewhere in this chapter, means the plural "persons" and shall include individuals, partnerships, corporations or other legal entities. See West Virginia Code 20-1-2
- Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 20-5J-3
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Storage: means the containment of infectious medical waste on a temporary basis. See West Virginia Code 20-5J-3
- Take: means to hunt, shoot, pursue, lure, kill, destroy, catch, capture, keep in captivity, gig, spear, trap, ensnare, wound or injure any wildlife, or attempt to do so. See West Virginia Code 20-1-2
- Treatment: means any method, technique or process, including neutralization, designed to change the physical, chemical or biological character or composition of any infectious medical waste so as to render such waste noninfectious. See West Virginia Code 20-5J-3
(b) On or after October 1, 1991, no person may own, construct, modify, operate or close any facility or site for the treatment, storage or disposal of infectious medical waste, nor shall any person store, treat or dispose of any such infectious medical waste without first obtaining a permit from the secretary, unless specifically excluded or exempted by rules promulgated by the secretary.