In regard to fines for failing to date sharps boxes, this is highly dependent on the State where you are located. Given your previous employment at Genentech, I'm assuming you are in California and thus regulated by CalOSHA. Those regulations note that "Handling, storage, treatment & disposal of a regulated waste shall be in accordance with Health and Safety Code Chapter 6.1, Sections 117600 through 118360". Here's a link: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DRSEM/CDPH%20Document%20Library/EMB/MedicalWaste/MedicalWasteManagementAct.pdf

Under 117690 - Medical Waste - I can find no specific requirements regarding the dating of biowaste, including sharps. However, there are limits on how long this waste can be stored, similar to RCRA regulations for large and small generators. There are also numerous references to required labeling, but again, no apparent requirements for dating sharps containers. The ONLY requirements for containers and labeling are:

"117630 - Biohazard Bag

(a) "Biohazard bag" means a disposable film bag used to contain medical waste. Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 117605, the film bags that are used to line the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT)-approved shipping containers for transport from the generator's facility onto roadways and into commerce to a treatment and disposal facility shall be marked and certified by the manufacturer as having passed the tests prescribed for tear resistance in the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) D1922, "Standard Test Method for Propagation Tear Resistance of Plastic Film and Thin Sheeting by Pendulum Method" and for impact resistance in ASTM D1709, "Standard Test Methods for Impact Resistance of Plastic Film by the Free-Falling Dart Method," as those documents were published on January 1, 2014. The film bag shall meet an impact resistance of 165 grams and a tearing resistance of 480 grams in both parallel and perpendicular planes with respect to the length of the bag. (b) The biohazard bag that is used to collect medical waste within a facility shall be manufacturer certified to meet the ASTM D1709 dart drop test, provided that when the bag is prepared for transport offsite, it is placed into a USDOT-approved container lined with a biohazard bag that is ASTM D1709 and ASTM D1922 certified.

(c) The color of the bag shall be red, except when yellow bags are used to further segregate trace chemotherapy waste and white bags are used to further segregate pathology waste. The biohazard bag shall be marked with the international biohazard symbol and may be labeled by reference as authorized by the USDOT."

That said, assuming storage limits are exceeded for large or small generators, fines established by CalOSHA are entirely up to the agency, specific to the nature of the violation. I believe it is incorrect to assign a specific dollar amount for a fine on failure to provide dating on a label. It would appear that other means of dating waste (logs, electronic records, etc.) could be use to determine storage accumulation times on containers.

In addition, the Medical Waste regulations specifically state that local jurisdictions with regulations in place prior to 1990 may continue to apply.

I hope this is helpful-

Russ

Russ Phifer

WC Environmental, LLC
1085C Andrew Drive

West Chester, PA 19380

610-322-0657

rphifer**At_Symbol_Here**wcenvironmental.com

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Subject: [DCHAS-L] informal or reference list of EPA and/or OSHA fines?

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