The Medical Waste Tracking Act (MWTA) arouse in 1988 as an aftermath of the Syringe Tide. The act defines medical waste as "any solid waste that is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biologicals" ("Medical Waste," 2012). After the Short Term Floatable Action Plan was completed, state officials determined that in order to maintain clean beaches, medical waste had to be more tightly controlled. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sponsored the Medical Waste Tracking Act and designed a two year program to regulate the process of discarding medical waste from the time that it was produced and until all the waste was properly handled and recycled by the recycling companies. The findings during the two year program helped to determine if and how the Federal Government should regulate medical waste. The program started on June 24,1989 and lasted until June 21,1991. It was in effect in New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Puerto Rico.
The Medical Waste Tracking Act also established rules to regulate the labeling and sorting of all medical waste produced by the facilities. It required facilities to separate medical waste from any other trash. The medical waste was to further be separated according to its type into special containers. The packages were not to exceed 50 pounds and each package was supposed to be labeled and placed into rigid, leak resistant containers ("Medical Waste Tracking," 2012). In order to enforce the regulations, the Medical Waste Tracking Act was supported by the federal government, which prosecuted any facilities that did not follow the rules of the program. Penalties were given based on the severity of the violation, and ranged from "$25,000 for each day of noncompliance to fifteen years of imprisonment and $1,000,000 fine" ("Medical Waste Tracking," 2012). The Medical Waste Tracking Act is still in effect today. Health and medical inspectors use the tracking act as a checklist to determine if the facilities correctly comply to all the rules and regulations.
The Medical Waste Tracking Act also established rules to regulate the labeling and sorting of all medical waste produced by the facilities. It required facilities to separate medical waste from any other trash. The medical waste was to further be separated according to its type into special containers. The packages were not to exceed 50 pounds and each package was supposed to be labeled and placed into rigid, leak resistant containers ("Medical Waste Tracking," 2012). In order to enforce the regulations, the Medical Waste Tracking Act was supported by the federal government, which prosecuted any facilities that did not follow the rules of the program. Penalties were given based on the severity of the violation, and ranged from "$25,000 for each day of noncompliance to fifteen years of imprisonment and $1,000,000 fine" ("Medical Waste Tracking," 2012). The Medical Waste Tracking Act is still in effect today. Health and medical inspectors use the tracking act as a checklist to determine if the facilities correctly comply to all the rules and regulations.