Section 117635.

"Biohazardous waste" means any of the following:

(a)  Laboratory waste, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1)  Human or animal specimen cultures from medical and pathology laboratories.

(2)  Cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial laboratories.

(3)  Wastes from the production of bacteria, viruses, spores, discarded live and attenuated vaccines used in human health care or research, discarded animal vaccines, including Brucellosis and Contagious Ecthyma, as identified by the department, and culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix cultures.

(b)  Human surgery specimens or tissues removed at surgery or autopsy, which are suspected by the attending physician and surgeon or dentist of being contaminated with infectious agents known to be contagious to humans.

(c)  Animal parts, tissues, fluids, or carcasses suspected by the attending veterinarian of being contaminated with infectious agents known to be contagious to humans.

(d)  Waste, which at the point of transport from the generator's site, at the point of disposal, or thereafter, contains recognizable fluid blood, fluid blood products, containers or equipment containing blood that is fluid, or blood from animals known to be infected with diseases which are highly communicable to humans.

(e)  Waste containing discarded materials contaminated with excretion, exudate, or secretions from humans or animals that are required to be isolated by the infection control staff, the attending physician and surgeon, the attending veterinarian, or the local health officer, to protect others from highly communicable diseases or diseases of animals that are highly communicable to humans.

(f)  (1)  Waste which is hazardous only because it is comprised of human surgery specimens or tissues which have been fixed in formaldehyde or other fixatives, or only because the waste is contaminated through contact with, or having previously contained, chemotherapeutic agents, including, but not limited to, gloves, disposable gowns, towels, and intravenous solution bags and attached tubing which are empty. A biohazardous waste which meets the conditions of this paragraph is not subject to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20.

(2)  For purposes of this subdivision, "chemotherapeutic agent" means an agent that kills or prevents the reproduction of malignant cells.

(3)  For purposes of this subdivision, a container, or inner liner removed from a container, which previously contained a chemotherapeutic agent, is empty if the container or inner liner removed from the container has been emptied by the generator as much as possible, using methods commonly employed to remove waste or material from containers or liners, so that the following conditions are met:

(A)  If the material which the container or inner liner held is pourable, no material can be poured or drained from the container or inner liner when held in any orientation, including, but not limited to, when tilted or inverted.

(B)  If the material which the container or inner liner held is not pourable, no material or waste remains in the container or inner liner that can feasibly be removed by scraping.

(g)  Waste that is hazardous only because it is comprised of pharmaceuticals, as defined in Section 117747. Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 117690, medical waste includes biohazardous waste that meets the conditions of this subdivision. Biohazardous waste that meets the conditions of this subdivision is not subject to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20.

(Added by renumbering Section 25020.5 by Stats. 1996, Ch. 536, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1997.)