250 R.I. Code R. 250-RICR-120-05-39.5

Current through November 7, 2024

Section 250-RICR-120-05-39.5 - Definitions

A. Unless otherwise expressly defined in this section, the terms used in this regulation shall be defined by reference to Part 0 of this Subchapter (General Definitions). As used in this regulation, the following terms shall, where the context permits, be construed as follows:

1. "Bag leak detection system" means an instrument that is capable of monitoring PM loadings in the exhaust of a fabric filter in order to detect bag failures. A bag leak detection system includes, but is not limited to, an instrument that operates on triboelectric, light-scattering, light-transmittance, or other effects to monitor relative PM loadings.

2. "Batch HMIWI" means an HMIWI that is designed such that neither waste charging nor ash removal can occur during combustion.

3. "Biologicals" means preparations made from living organisms and their products, including vaccines, cultures, etc., intended for use in diagnosing, immunizing, or treating humans or animals or in research pertaining thereto.

4. "Blood products" means any product derived from human blood, including but not limited to blood plasma, platelets, red or white blood corpuscles, and other derived licensed products, such as interferon, etc.

5. "Body fluids" means liquid emanating or derived from humans and limited to blood; dialysate; amniotic, cerebrospinal, synovial, pleural, peritoneal and pericardial fluids; and semen and vaginal secretions.

6. "Bypass stack" means a device used for discharging combustion gases to avoid severe damage to the air pollution control device or other equipment.

7. "Chemotherapeutic waste" means waste material resulting from the production or use of antineoplastic agents used for the purpose of stopping or reversing the growth of malignant cells.

8. "Commercial HMIWI" means a HMIWI which offers incineration services for hospital/medical/infectious waste generated offsite by firms unrelated to the firm that owns the HMIWI.

9. "Co-fired combustor" or "Co-fired incinerator" means a unit combusting hospital waste and/or medical/infectious waste with other fuels or wastes and subject to an enforceable requirement limiting the unit to combusting a fuel stream, ten percent 10% or less of the weight of which is comprised, in aggregate, of hospital waste and medical/infectious waste as measured on a calendar quarter basis. For purposes of this definition, pathological waste, chemotherapeutic waste, and low-level radioactive waste are considered "other" wastes when calculating the percentage of hospital waste and medical/infectious waste combusted.

10. "Continuous emission monitoring system" or "CEMS" means a monitoring system for continuously measuring and recording the emissions of a pollutant from an affected facility.

11. "Continuous HMIWI" means an HMIWI that is designed to allow waste charging and ash removal during combustion.

12. "Dioxins/furans" means the combined emissions of tetra- through octa-chlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins and dibenzofurans, as measured by EPA 40 C.F.R. § 60 Appendix A-7, Reference Method 23.

13. "Dry scrubber" means an add-on air pollution control system that injects dry alkaline sorbent (dry injection) or sprays an alkaline sorbent (spray dryer) to react with and neutralize acid gases in the HMIWI exhaust stream forming a dry powder material.

14. "Fabric filter or baghouse" means an add-on air pollution control system that removes particulate matter (PM) and nonvaporous metals emissions by passing flue gas through filter bags.

15. "Facilities manager" means the individual in charge of purchasing, maintaining, and operating the HMIWI or the owner or operator's representative responsible for the management of the HMIWI. Alternative titles may include director of facilities or vice president of support systems.

16. "High-air phase" means the stage of the batch operating cycle when the primary chamber reaches and maintains maximum operating temperatures.

17. "Hospital" means any facility which has an organized medical staff, maintains at least six (6) inpatient beds, and where the primary function of the institution is to provide diagnostic and therapeutic patient services and continuous nursing care primarily to human patients who are not related and who stay on average in excess of twenty-four (24) hours per admission. This definition does not include facilities maintained for the sole purpose of providing nursing or convalescent care to human patients who generally are not acutely ill but who require continuing medical supervision.

18. "Hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerator" or "HMIWI" or "HMIWI unit" means any device that combusts any amount of hospital waste and/or medical/infectious waste.

19. "Hospital/medical/infectious waste incinerator operator" or "HMIWI" operator" means any person who operates, controls or supervises the day-to-day operation of an HMIWI.

20. "Hospital waste" means discards generated at a hospital, except unused items returned to the manufacturer. The definition of hospital waste does not include human corpses, remains, and anatomical parts that are intended for interment or cremation.

21. "Infectious agent" means any organism (such as a virus or bacteria) that is capable of being communicated by invasion and multiplication in body tissues and capable of causing disease or adverse health impacts in humans.

22. "Intermittent HMIWI" means an HMIWI that is designed to allow waste charging, but not ash removal, during combustion.

23. "Large HMIWI" means an HMIWI whose maximum design waste burning capacity is more than five hundred (500) pounds per hour; or

a. A continuous or intermittent HMIWI whose maximum charge rate is more than five hundred (500) pounds per hour; or

b. A batch HMIWI whose maximum charge rate is more than four thousand (4,000) pounds per day.

24. "Low-level radioactive waste" means waste material which contains radioactive nuclides emitting primarily beta or gamma radiation, or both, in concentrations or quantities that exceed applicable federal or State standards for unrestricted release. Low-level radioactive waste is not high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, or by-product material as defined by the 42 U.S.C. § 2014(e)(2) (Atomic Energy Act of 1954).

25. "Malfunction" means any sudden, infrequent, and not reasonably preventable failure of air pollution control equipment, process equipment, or a process to operate in a normal or usual manner. Failures that are caused, in part, by poor maintenance or careless operation are not malfunctions.

26. "Maximum charge rate" means:

a. For continuous and intermittent HMIWI, one hundred ten percent (110%) of the lowest 3-hour average charge rate measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with all applicable emission limits.

b. For batch HMIWI, one hundred ten percent (110%) of the lowest daily charge rate measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with all applicable emission limits.

27. "Maximum design waste burning capacity" means:

a. For intermittent and continuous HMIWI

C = P_v x 15,000/8,500

Where:

C = HMIWI capacity, lb/hr

P_v = primary chamber volume, ft³

15,000 = primary chamber heat release factor, Btu/ft³/hr

8,500 = standard waste heating value, Btu/lb;

b. For batch HMIWI

C = P_v x 4.5/8

Where:

C = HMIWI capacity, lb/hr

P_v = primary chamber volume, ft³

4.5 = waste density, lb/ft³

8 = typical hours of operation of a batch HMIWI, hours.

28. "Maximum fabric filter inlet temperature" means one hundred ten percent (110%) of the lowest 3-hour average temperature at the inlet to the fabric filter (taken, at a minimum, once every minute) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with the dioxin/furan emission limit.

29. "Maximum flue gas temperature" means one hundred ten percent (110%) of the lowest 3-hour average temperature at the outlet from the wet scrubber (taken, at a minimum, once every minute) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with the mercury (Hg) emission limit.

30. "Medical/infectious waste" means any of the following 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:

a. Cultures and stocks of infectious agents and associated biologicals, including: cultures from medical and pathological laboratories; cultures and stocks of infectious agents from research and industrial laboratories; wastes from the production of biologicals; discarded live and attenuated vaccines; and culture dishes and devices used to transfer, inoculate, and mix cultures;

b. Human pathological waste, including tissues, organs, and body parts and body fluids that are removed during surgery or autopsy, or other medical procedures, and specimens of body fluids and their containers;

c. Human blood and blood products including:

(1) Liquid waste human blood;

(2) Products of blood;

(3) Items saturated and/or dripping with human blood; or

(4) Items that were saturated and/or dripping with human blood that are now caked with dried human blood; including serum, plasma, and other blood components, and their containers, which were used or intended for use in either patient care, testing and laboratory analysis or the development of pharmaceuticals. Intravenous bags are also included in this category;

d. Sharps that have been used in animal or human patient care or treatment or in medical, research, or industrial laboratories, including hypodermic needles, syringes (with or without the attached needle), Pasteur pipettes, scalpel blades, blood vials, needles with attached tubing, and culture dishes (regardless of presence of infectious agents). Also included are other types of broken or unbroken glassware that were in contact with infectious agents, such as used slides and cover slips;

e. Animal waste including contaminated animal carcasses, body parts, and bedding of animals that were known to have been exposed to infectious agents during research (including research in veterinary hospitals), production of biologicals or testing of pharmaceuticals;

f. Isolation wastes including biological waste and discarded materials contaminated with blood, excretions, exudates, or secretions from humans who are isolated to protect others from certain highly communicable diseases, or isolated animals known to be infected with highly communicable diseases; and

g. Unused sharps including the following unused, discarded sharps: hypodermic needles, suture needles, syringes, and scalpel blades.

31. "Medium HMIWI" means:

a. A HMIWI whose maximum design waste burning capacity is more than two hundred (200) pounds per hour but less than or equal to five hundred (500) pounds per hour; or

b. A continuous or intermittent HMIWI whose maximum charge rate is more than two hundred (200) pounds per hour but less than or equal to five hundred (500) pounds per hour; or

c. A batch HMIWI whose maximum charge rate is more than one thousand six hundred (1,600) pounds per day but less than or equal to four thousand (4,000) pounds per day.

32. "Minimum dioxin/furan sorbent flow" means ninety percent (90%) of the highest 3-hour average dioxin/furan sorbent flow rate (taken, at a minimum, once every hour) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with the dioxin/furan emission limit.

33. "Minimum mercury (Hg) sorbent flow rate" means ninety percent (90%) of the highest 3-hour average Hg sorbent flow rate (taken, at a minimum, once every hour) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with the Hg emission limit.

34. "Minimum hydrogen chloride (HCl) sorbent flow rate" means ninety percent (90%) of the highest 3-hour average HCl sorbent flow rate (taken, at a minimum, once every hour) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with the HCl emission limit.

35. "Minimum horsepower or amperage" means ninety percent (90%) of the highest 3-hour average horsepower or amperage to the wet scrubber (taken, at a minimum, once every minute) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with all applicable emission limits.

36. "Minimum pressure drop across the wet scrubber" means ninety percent (90%) of the highest 3-hour average pressure drop across the wet scrubber PM control device (taken, at a minimum, once every minute) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with the PM emission limit.

37. "Minimum reagent flow rate" means ninety percent (90%) of the highest 3hour average reagent flow rate at the inlet to the selective noncatalytic reduction technology (taken, at a minimum, once every minute) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with the NO_x emissions limit.

38. "Minimum scrubber liquor flow rate" means ninety percent (90%) of the highest 3-hour average liquor flow rate at the inlet to the wet scrubber (taken, at a minimum, once every minute) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with all applicable emission limits.

39. "Minimum scrubber liquor pH" means ninety percent (90%)of the highest 3-hour average liquor pH at the inlet to the wet scrubber (taken, at a minimum, once every minute) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with the HCI emission limit.

40. "Minimum secondary chamber temperature" means ninety percent (90%) of the highest 3-hour average secondary chamber temperature (taken, at a minimum, once every minute) measured during the most recent performance test demonstrating compliance with the PM, carbon monoxide (CO), or dioxin/furan emission limits.

41. "Modification" or "Modified HMIWI" means any change to an HMIWI unit after the effective date of this regulation such that:

a. The cumulative costs of the modifications, over the life of the unit, exceed fifty percent (50%) of the original cost of the construction and installation of the unit (not including the cost of any land purchased in connection with such construction or installation) updated to current costs, or

b. The change involves a physical change in or change in the method of operation of the unit which increases the amount of any air pollutant emitted by the unit for which standards have been established under 42 U.S.C. § 7429 (CAA §129) or 42 U.S.C. § 7411 (CAA §111).

42. "Operating day" means a 24-hour period between 12:00 midnight and the following midnight during which any amount of hospital waste or medical/infectious waste is combusted at any time in the HMIWI.

43. "Operation" means the period during which waste is combusted in the incinerator excluding periods of startup or shutdown.

44. "Particulate matter" or "PM" means the total particulate matter emitted from an HMIWI as measured by 40 C.F.R. § 60 Appendix A-3 Method 5 or 40 C.F.R. § 60 Appendix A-8 Method 29.

45. "Pathological waste" means waste material consisting of only human or animal remains, anatomical parts, and/or tissue, the bags/containers used to collect and transport the waste material, and animal bedding (if applicable).

46. "Primary chamber" means the chamber in an HMIWI that receives waste material, in which the waste is ignited, and from which ash is removed.

47. "Pyrolysis" means the endothermic gasification of hospital waste and/or medical/infectious waste using external energy.

48. "Secondary chamber" means a component of the HMIWI that receives combustion gases from the primary chamber and in which the combustion process is completed.

49. "Shutdown" means the period of time after all waste has been combusted in the primary chamber. For continuous HMIWI, shutdown shall commence no less than two (2) hours after the last charge to the incinerator. For intermittent HMIWI, shutdown shall commence no less than four (4) hours after the last charge to the incinerator. For batch HMIWI, shutdown shall commence no less than five (5) hours after the high-air phase of combustion has been completed.

50. "Small HMIWI" means an HMIWI whose maximum design waste burning capacity is less than or equal to two hundred (200) pounds per hour and which has a maximum charge rate less than or equal to two hundred (200) pounds per hour for continuous or intermittent HMIWI and less than or equal to one thousand six hundred (1,600) pounds per day for batch HMIWI.

51. "Standard conditions" means a temperature of twenty degrees Celsius (20°C) and a pressure of 101.3 kilopascals.

52. "Startup" means the period of time between the activation of the system and the first charge to the unit. For batch HMIWI, startup means the period of time between activation of the system and ignition of the waste.

53. "Total dioxin/furan" means the sum of the emissions of all tetra- through octa-chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, as measured by 40 C.F.R. § 60 Appendix A-7 Method 23.

54. "Toxic equivalent quantity" or "TEQ" means the emissions of those congeners weighted according to international toxic equivalency factors and then summed.

55. "Wet scrubber" means an add-on air pollution control device that utilizes an alkaline scrubbing liquor to collect particulate matter (including nonvaporous metals and condensed organics) and/or to absorb and neutralize acid gases.

250 R.I. Code R. 250-RICR-120-05-39.5

Amended effective 12/26/2018