ENVIRONMENTAL RELATED UPDATES:
Proposed National Health Care Risk Waste Management Regulations
Date: 30/04/2018
Government Gazette No.: 41601
Notice No.: 463
The Minister Environmental Affairs gave notice of her intention to make regulations regarding health care risk waste, in terms of section 69(1)(b), (g), (h), (q), (r), (s), (dd), and (ee) read with sections 72 and 73 of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008, set out in the Schedule to the notice.
The purpose of these Regulations is to-
- regulate the management of health care risk waste in a manner which supports and implements the provisions of the NEMWA;
- prescribe the requirements for the management of health care risk waste such that this waste no longer constitutes a threat to humans, animals or the environment;
- prescribe the requirements for management of health care risk waste that ensures third party protection; and
- prescribe general duties of waste generators, waste transporters and waste managers.
Members of the public are invited to submit to the Minister, within 30 days (i.e. 30 May 2018) of the publication of this notice in the Gazette, written representations or inputs to the following addresses:
By post to: The Director-General: Environmental Affairs
Attention: Dr Shauna Costley
Private Bag X447
PRETORIA, 0001
By hand at: Reception, Environment House, 473 Steve Biko Road, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0083.
By e-mail: scostley@environment.gov.za
The draft Regulations on Health Care Risk Waste can also be accessed at http://sawic.environment.gov.za under "Draft documents for comment".
Any inquiries in connection with the Regulations and Norms and Standards can be directed to Dr Shauna Costley at 012 399 9775.
Affected Parties
These Regulations apply uniformly throughout the Republic of South Africa to all persons and or organisations that either wish to dispose, discharge, store, transport, treat health care risk waste, meaning, any waste which is produced in the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals, or waste that has been in contact with blood, body fluids or tissues from humans, or Infected animals from veterinary practices and includes but is not limited to the following categories-
(a) infectious waste; (b) pathological waste; (c) laboratory waste; (d) genotoxic waste; (e) sharps waste; (f) chemical waste; (g) pharmaceutical waste; and (h) radioactive waste but does not include nappy and sanitary wastes unless such wastes are isolation waste;
These Regulations do not apply to domestic generators.
Applicability to Organisations
The regulations set out provisions that include for comment by interested parties, amongst others:
Chapter 3: Segregation; Packaging; Labelling; Storage
Chapter 4: General Duties of Generators, Transporters and Waste Managers.
Note that provisions for transitional arrangements is listed under regulation 13 but omitted from the draft regulations.
Reference
Environmental Suite > Legal Library > N > National Environmental Management Waste Act > Draft
National Norms and Standards for Validation of the Treatment Efficacy and Operation of a Non-Combustion Treatment Technology used to treat Health Care Risk Waste
Date: 30/04/2018
Government Gazette No.: 41601
Notice No.: 464
The Minister Environmental Affairs gave notice of her intention to make national norms and standards for the validation of the treatment efficacy and operation of a non-combustion treatment technology used to treat health care risk waste in terms of section 7(1)(c) read with sections 72 and 73 the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008, set out in the Schedule to the notice.
The purpose of these National Norms and Standards is to prescribe the minimum requirements for the efficacy testing and operation of a non-combustion treatment technology used to treat health care risk waste.
Members of the public are invited to submit to the Minister, within 30 days (i.e. 30 May 2018) of the publication of this notice in the Gazette, written representations or inputs to the following addresses:
By post to: The Director-General: Environmental Affairs
Attention: Dr Shauna Costley
Private Bag X447
PRETORIA, 0001
By hand at: Reception, Environment House, 473 Steve Biko Road, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0083.
By e-mail: scostley@environment.gov.za
The draft Regulations on Health Care Risk Waste can also be accessed at http://sawic.environment.gov.za under "Draft documents for comment".
Any inquiries in connection with the Regulations and Norms and Standards can be directed to Dr Shauna Costley at 012 399 9775.
Affected Parties
These Norms and Standards apply uniformly throughout the Republic of South Africa to all non-combustion treatment technologies used to treat health care risk waste and alongside any applicable waste management licence but will not apply to incineration facilities.
Applicability to Organisations
These Norms and Standards set out provisions that include for comment by interested parties, amongst others:
- General Efficacy Requirements – Regulation 4;
- Validation Testing – Chapter 3
- Characteristics for Waste Residue – Regulation 10
- System Failure – Regulation 11
- Record keeping – Regulation 12
Reference
Environmental Suite > Legal Library > N > National Environmental Management Waste Act > Draft
