Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 5.djvu/146

 102 STAT. 4152

PUBLIC LAW 100-688—NOV. 18, 1988 (1) by inserting "Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts (including Cape Cod Bay and Boston Harbor);" after "Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts;"; (2) by striking "and" before "Galveston Bay, Texas"; and (3) by inserting after "Galveston Bay, Texas;" the following: "; Barataria-Terrebonne Bay estuary complex, Louisiana; Indian River Lagoon, Florida; and Peconic Bay, New York".

TITLE III—DUMPING OF MEDICAL WASTE United States Public Vessel Medical Waste Anti-Dumping Act of 1988. Safety. 33 USC 2501 note. 33 USC 2501.

Subtitle A—Dumping by Public Vessels SEC. 3101. SHORT TITLE.

This subtitle may be cited as the "United States Public Vessel Medical Waste Anti-Dumping Act of 1988". SEC. 3102. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following: (1) The washing ashore of potentially infectious medical wastes from public vessels of the United States may pose serious and widespread risks to public health and to the welfare of coastal communities. (2) Current Federal law provides inadequate protections against the disposal of such wastes from such vessels into ocean waters. (3) Operators of such vessels must take immediate action to stop disposing of such wastes into ocean waters. 33 USC 2502.

SEC. 3103. DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this subtitle: (1) POTENTIALLY INFECTIOUS MEDICAL WASTE.—The term "potentially infectious medical waste" includes isolation wastes; infectious agents; human blood and blood products; pathological wastes; sharps; body parts; contaminated bedding; surgical wastes; and other disposable medical equipment and material that may pose a risk to the public health, welfare or the marine environment. (2) PUBLIC VESSEL.—The term "public vessel" means a vessel of any type whatsoever (including hydrofoils, air-cushion vehicles, submersibles, floating craft whether propelled or not, and fixed or floating platforms) that is owned, or demise chartered, and operated by the United States Government, and is not engaged in commercial service. 33 USC 2503.

SEC. 3104. PROHIBITION.

After 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, no public vessel shall dispose of potentially infectious medical waste into ocean waters unless— (1)(A) the health or safety of individuals on board the vessel is threatened; or (B) during time of war or a declared national emergency; (2) the waste is disposed of beyond 50 nautical miles from the nearest land; and (3)(A) in the case of a public vessel which is not a submersible, the waste is sterilized, properly packaged, and sufficiently

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