2007 Minnesota Statutes

116.76 DEFINITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Applicability. The definitions in this section apply to sections 116.76 to
116.83.
    Subd. 2. Agency. "Agency" means the Pollution Control Agency.
    Subd. 3. Blood. "Blood" means waste human blood and blood products in containers, or
solid waste saturated and dripping human blood or blood products. Human blood products include
serum, plasma, and other blood components.
    Subd. 4. Commercial transporter. "Commercial transporter" means a person, other than the
United States government, who transports infectious or pathological waste for compensation.
    Subd. 5. Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Pollution Control
Agency.
    Subd. 6. Decontamination. "Decontamination" means rendering infectious waste safe for
routine handling as a solid waste.
    Subd. 7.[Repealed, 1Sp1993 c 1 art 9 s 75]
    Subd. 8. Facility. "Facility" means a site where infectious waste is generated, stored,
decontaminated, incinerated, or disposed.
    Subd. 9. Generator. "Generator" means a person whose activities produce infectious
waste. "Generator" does not include a person who produces sharps as a result of administering
medication to oneself. "Generator" does not include an ambulance service licensed under section
144E.10, an eligible board of health, community health board, or public health nursing agency as
defined in section 116.78, subdivision 10, or a program providing school health service under
section 121A.21.
    Subd. 10. Household. "Household" means a single detached dwelling unit or a single unit of
a multiple dwelling.
    Subd. 11. Infectious agent. "Infectious agent" means an organism that is capable of
producing infection or infectious disease in humans.
    Subd. 12. Infectious waste. "Infectious waste" means laboratory waste, blood, regulated
body fluids, sharps, and research animal waste that have not been decontaminated.
    Subd. 13. Laboratory waste. "Laboratory waste" means waste cultures and stocks of agents
that are generated from a laboratory and are infectious to humans; discarded contaminated items
used to inoculate, transfer, or otherwise manipulate cultures or stocks of agents that are infectious
to humans; wastes from the production of biological agents that are infectious to humans; and
discarded live or attenuated vaccines that are infectious to humans.
    Subd. 14. Pathological waste. "Pathological waste" means human tissues and body parts
removed accidentally or during surgery or autopsy intended for disposal.
    Subd. 15. Person. "Person" means an individual, partnership, association, public or private
corporation, or other legal entity, the United States government, an interstate body, the state, and
an agency, department, or political subdivision of the state.
    Subd. 16. Regulated human body fluids. "Regulated human body fluids" means
cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, and amniotic
fluid that are in containers or that drip freely from body fluid soaked solid waste items.
    Subd. 17. Research animal waste. "Research animal waste" means carcasses, body parts,
and blood derived from animals knowingly and intentionally exposed to agents that are infectious
to humans for the purpose of research, production of biologicals, or testing of pharmaceuticals.
    Subd. 18. Sharps. "Sharps" means:
(1) discarded items that can induce subdermal inoculation of infectious agents, including
needles, scalpel blades, pipettes, and other items derived from human or animal patient care,
blood banks, laboratories, mortuaries, research facilities, and industrial operations; and
(2) discarded glass or rigid plastic vials containing infectious agents.
History: 1989 c 337 s 2; 1990 c 568 art 2 s 2; 1993 c 206 s 3; 1Sp1993 c 1 art 9 s 2;
1Sp1993 c 6 s 3; 1994 c 585 s 36; 1997 c 199 s 14; 1998 c 397 art 11 s 3