Articles by Kevin Webber

Data security is an important area of concern for medical practices and protecting your sensitive records is required by law. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets forth guidelines for protecting Protected Health Information (PHI) in the HIPAA Privacy Rule. PHI is defined as information, including demographic data, that is used to identify a patient or provide health care services or health care coverage. Medical histories, test results, insurance information— all individually identifiable health information is included.

Properly labeling your hazardous waste materials is one of the most important activities for a compliant waste management regime. From notifying personnel of the dangers involved in dealing with a material, to ensuring your waste management provider is able to handle each material appropriately, labels are crucial for maintaining safe operations.

Congratulations! Your facility has a plan in place to insure proper implementation and management of an effective hazardous waste management program. It includes clear specifications for training employees about how to properly identify, handle, and dispose of hazardous waste, along with defining the specific steps they should take if they’re exposed to hazardous materials in both disaster and regular workday scenarios. It clearly details the entire process from the point of waste generation through final disposal.

Managing the collection and disposal of hazardous waste is one of your facility’s most important tasks, and the consequences of failing to comply with legal requirements can be stark. With stakes so high, how do you ensure you’re meeting your responsibilities while constrained by budgetary and scheduling pressures?

Hazardous waste that is improperly managed poses a serious threat to human health as well as to the environment. Once your facility has established a compliant regulated waste management process, the bulk of the work required to maintain it centers around documentation and other hard copy information, including a hazardous waste plan.

Managing shop towels and disposable wipes is a common burden for many facilities, but are you wasting money by treating all your rags like hazardous waste?

Although any contaminated wipes, rags or towels are subject to legal management requirements, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conditionally excluded many solvent-contaminated rags and materials from the solid and hazardous waste regulations. Given that fact, how can your facility save time and reduce waste management costs by adhering to EPA rag rules?

The Environmental Protection Agency’s hazardous waste manifest system was created to track hazardous waste from the time it leaves the facility where it was generated, until it reaches the off-site facility for storage, treatment, or disposal. The Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest is the form that is the key component of the system, and it helps ensure accountability in the transportation and disposal process.

You should select your hazardous waste transporter and your treatment, storage and disposal facility (TSDF) very carefully. As a hazardous waste generator, you have cradle-to-grave responsibility for your waste and remain responsible for its proper management even after it leaves your facility.

How do you know that your hazardous waste is being properly managed by your waste services provider? After the waste leaves your facility, how can you be sure that it’s transported and treated following state and federal regulations? We’ve put together a list of things to look for, including a checklist to help you select your hazardous waste partner to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations provide hazardous waste management standards for generators of hazardous waste. This framework ensures that hazardous waste is managed safely from “cradle-to-grave” – from the time it is created, while it is transported, treated, and stored, and until it is recycled or disposed. The degree of regulation that applies to each waste generator depends on the amount of waste produced. This “waste generator status” determines the length of time that hazardous waste can be stored at the point of generation, or on site. Since accumulating hazardous waste on site can pose a threat to human health and the environment, you may keep it only for a short time without a permit.

As a hazardous waste generator, you are responsible for familiarizing yourself with state and federal regulations and determining your generator classification. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established three categories of generators in its hazardous waste generator regulations: