The Medical Waste Tracking Act of 1988 was a United States federal law concerning the illegal dumping of body tissues, blood wastes and other contaminated biological materials. It established heavy penalties for knowingly endangering life through noncompliance. The law expired in 1991.
Authority
The law created a two-year program that went into effect in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico on June 24, 1989, and expired on June 21, 1991.
The H.R. 3515 legislation was passed by the 100th Congressional session and signed into law by the 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan on November 2, 1988.
History
Beginning on August 13, 1987, a "30-mile garbage slick" composed primarily of medical and household wastes prompted extensive closures of numerous New Jersey and New York beaches. Investigations ongoing throughout the year indicated that the waste likely originated from "New York City's marine transfer stations … and the Southwest Brooklyn Incinerator and Transfer Station in particular…" This process would allow for the Agency to legally enter generating facilities for the purpose of determining if infectious agents and materials were being handled as prescribed by the EPA Administrator.
Enforcement
A major point of importance within the MWTA involves its inclusion of enforcement laws within the legislation. This becomes notable as it allows for one of the first instances in which an agency of the federal government may prosecute those charged with violation of regulations dealing with medical wastes. Following enactment of the MWTA the EPA Administrator may be allowed to "commence civil action in the United States district court in the district in which the violation occurred" against those being charged with the violation.
Penalties ranged based on the level of violation, whether it was done with intention, and if such acts endangered the lives of other individuals. Minor violations of compliance orders would have resulted in a fine of $25,000 per day of "continued noncompliance." Criminal penalties against those knowingly and intentionally violating the regulations of the MWTA may face two years of imprisonment or a $50,000 fine while those guilty of knowingly endangering the life of another through noncompliance may face upwards of fifteen years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine.
Outcomes
Through the information gathered during the promulgation of regulations for the MWTA, over a period of ten years the EPA eventually "concluded that the disease-causing potential of medical waste is greatest at the point of generation and naturally tapers off after that point... Thus, risk to the general public of disease caused by exposure to medical waste is likely to be much lower than risk for the occupationally exposed individual."