75-10-1003. Definitions. As used in this part, the following definitions apply:
     (1) "Department" means the department of environmental quality established in 2-15-3501.
     (2) "Generator" means an individual, firm, facility, or company that produces infectious waste.
     (3) "Infectious" means capable of producing disease. To be infectious, the following four factors simultaneously must be present:
     (a) virulence, which is the ability of microorganisms to cause disease;
     (b) dose, which is microorganisms in a quantity sufficient to cause infection;
     (c) portal of entry, which is an opening or route of access into a human body; and
     (d) host susceptibility, which means the host's natural resistance is incapable of preventing infection.
     (4) "Infectious waste" means waste capable of producing infectious disease. Infectious waste includes but is not limited to:
     (a) cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated biologicals;
     (b) human pathological waste, including tissues, organs, and body parts removed during surgery or an autopsy;
     (c) free-flowing waste human blood and products of blood, including serum, plasma, and other blood components and items soaked or saturated with blood; and
     (d) sharps that have been used in patient care, medical research, or industrial laboratories.
     (5) "Sharps" means any discarded health care article that may cause punctures or cuts, including but not limited to needles, scalpel blades, and broken glass that may be contaminated with blood.
     (6) "Steam sterilization" means a treatment method for infectious waste using saturated steam within a pressure vessel (known as a steam sterilizer, autoclave, or retort) at a time, for a period of time, and at a temperature sufficient to kill infectious agents within the waste.
     (7) "Storage" means the actual or intended containment of wastes on either a temporary basis or a long-term basis.
     (8) "Transportation" means the movement of infectious waste from the point of generation to any intermediate points or to the point of ultimate treatment or disposal.
     (9) "Treatment" means the application of a method, technique, or process, including incineration, designed to render infectious waste sterile.

     History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 483, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 209, Ch. 418, L. 1995.