EPA to Delay RCRA Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals Rule

Posted on 8/11/2016 by Roger Marks

Sources are reporting that US EPA’s new management standards for pharmacies, hospitals, and other sites that generate hazardous waste pharmaceuticals will not be published in October 2016, as originally expected.

According to an update from the Healthcare Environmental Resource Center, EPA will not publish its Final Rule for hazardous waste pharmaceuticals, proposed in September 2015, until it can adequately address the comments received in response to the proposal and the complex policy issues those comments raised.

Proposed alongside EPA’s Generator Improvements Rule in 2015, the Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals Proposed Rule included updates that would change the way healthcare facilities identify and count the hazardous waste they generate, train their personnel, return unused pharmaceuticals to a vendor or manufacturer for credit, and more. In addition, the rule would explicitly prohibit drain disposal of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

See a full breakdown of EPA’s proposed Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals here.

Hazardous waste pharmaceuticals regulated under RCRA

Free On-Demand: Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals

Shortly after EPA proposed the new hazardous waste pharmaceuticals standards, Lion presented a free webinar to help healthcare facilities prepare for the changes under the new rule. A link to the Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals presentation is available on Lion.com.

Next Week: RCRA Refresher Training Webinar

Need RCRA hazardous waste training now? On August 16, the live, one-day RCRA refresher webinar will help you meet EPA’s training requirement for hazardous waste personnel at 40 CFR 262.34(a) and 265.16 and get you up to speed on the latest RCRA rules you need to know. Effective hazardous waste training is crucial to keep your site safe, keep drums and other containers in compliance, and meet your RCRA reporting and recordkeeping responsibilities. Plus, EPA raised the fines for RCRA noncompliance last month—mistakes could now cost you up to $70,117 per day, per violation.

Sign up now!

Tags: EPA, hazardous waste, new rules, RCRA

Find a Post

Search for:

Compliance Topics

Compliance Archives

I really enjoyed this training. Even after years on both sides of the comprehension coin, I find myself still learning! The quality of the delivery exceeded much of the training I have received in the past.

Neil Ozonur

Safety Officer

I used the IT support number available and my issue was resolved within a few minutes. I don't see anything that could have made it better.

Danny Province

EHS Professional

The instructor was very very informative, helpful, understandable and pleasant. This course answered many questions I had, being new to this industry.

Frances Mona

Shipping Manager

This is a very informative training compared to others. It covers everything I expect to learn and even a lot of new things.

Quatama Jackson

Waste Management Professional

I have over 26 years of environmental compliance experience, and it has been some time since I have attended an environmental regulations workshop. I attended this course as preparation for EHS Audits for my six plants, and it was exactly what I was looking for.

Frank Sizemore

Director of Regulatory Affairs

I love that the instructor emphasized the thought process behind the regs.

Rebecca Saxena

Corporate Product Stewardship Specialist

I tried other environmental training providers, but they were all sub-standard compared to Lion. I will not stray from Lion again!

Sara Sills

Environmental Specialist

The instructor was very patient and engaging - willing to answer and help explain subject matter.

Misty Filipp

Material Control Superintendent

The course is well thought out and organized in a way that leads to a clearer understanding of the total training.

David Baily

Hazmat Shipping Professional

More thorough than a class I attended last year through another company.

Troy Yonkers

HSES Representative

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

This guide will help you identify 25 of the most -cited errors in RCRA training, recordkeeping, hazardous waste ID, container management, universal waste, and laboratories.

Download

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.