The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to finalize regulatory changes that would provide new requirements for managing hazardous waste pharmaceuticals later this year, according to an article on The Legal Intelligencer website.
The EPA has proposed changes to codify requirements for the common practice of returning these products to manufacturers and to clarify other ambiguities with respect to managing hazardous waste pharmaceuticals (HWP).
These changes should reduce the amount of HWP that is poured down drains and often passes through sewer treatment processes, thereby improving water quality in drinking water sources.
Pharmaceutical waste generated by healthcare facilities will fall into one of three categories — potentially creditable HWP, noncreditable HWP and non-HWP.
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