to main content Regulated Waste - OSHA Definition | Critical Access Hospital | Environment of Care EC | The Joint Commission
Coronavirus Resources

  • Careers
  • E-Alerts
  • Contact Us
Main Menu
The Joint Commission
Visit Joint Commission ResourcesVisit Joint Commission InternationalQuality Check
Search Toggle
Login
  • Who We Are
    Through leading practices, unmatched knowledge and expertise, we help organizations across the continuum of care lead the way to zero harm.
    • Who We Work With
      • Our Partnerships
      • Payor Relations
      • State Recognition
    • Why Work With Us
    • Facts About The Joint Commission
      • History of The Joint Commission
      • Joint Commission FAQs
      • Board of Commissioners
      • Joint Commission Advisory Groups
      • Quality Check and Quality Reports
    • Federal Relations and Public Policy
    • Policies and Financials
      • Code of Conduct
      • Conflict of Interest Policy
      • Designated Copyright Agent Policy
      • Financial Statements
      • Firewall Policy Summary
      • Linking to The Joint Commission Website
      • Public Information Policy
      • Reprint Permission Policy
    • Joint Commission Officers
      • Jonathan B. Perlin
      • David Baker
      • Brian Enochs
      • Michael Kaba
      • Kin Lee
      • Ana Pujols McKee
      • Paige Rodgers
      • Deborah A. Ryan
      • Margaret VanAmringe
      • Lisa Vandecaveye
    • Joint Commission Resources
    • Joint Commission International
    A doctor reviews information on a tablet with a nurse

    Who We Work With

    Learn more about the communities and organizations we serve.

    A group of business professionals collaborate on a project in a conference room

    Why Work With Us

    See how our expertise and rigorous standards can help organizations like yours.

  • What We Offer
    In addition to accreditation, certification, and verification, we provide tools and resources for health care professionals that can help make a difference in the delivery of care.
    • How We Can Help
    • Accreditation
      • Health Care Settings
      • Become Accredited
      • Accreditation Guide
      • Accredited
    • Certification
      • What is Certification
      • Certifications by Setting
      • Explore Eligibility
      • Learn the Process
      • After your Review
      • Certifications without Accreditation
    • Verification
      • Improve Maternal Outcomes at Your Health Care Facility
      • Maternal Levels of Care Verification
      • Publicity Kit
    • Complimentary Resources
      • Webinars
      • Newsletters
      • R3 Reports
      • Sentinel Event Alerts
      • Patient Safety Topics
      • DASH
    Female nurse holding senior woman's hand.

    How We Can Help

    Learn how working with the Joint Commission benefits your organization and community.

    Shot of a group of medical practitioners having a discussion in a hospital.

    Accreditation Guide

    Find the exact resources you need to succeed in your accreditation journey.

  • Our Priorities
    Learn about the priorities that drive us and how we are helping propel health care forward.
    • Health Care Equity
      • Accreditation Standards & Resource Center
    • Emergency Management
    • Infection Prevention and Control
    • Suicide Prevention
    • Workplace Violence Prevention
    An elderly woman in a wheelchair is helped by a friendly nurse

    Health Care Equity

    Drive performance improvement using our new business intelligence tools.

    Veterinarian washing hands with soap at sink

    Infection Prevention & Control

    Find evidence-based sources on preventing infections in clinical settings.

  • Standards
    Set expectations for your organization's performance that are reasonable, achievable and survey-able.
    • About Our Standards
    • Standards Field Reviews
    • National Patient Safety Goals
      • Ambulatory Health Care: 2023 National Patient Safety Goals
      • Assisted Living Community: 2023 National Patient Safety Goals
      • Behavioral Health Care and Human Services: 2023 National Patient Safety Goals
      • Critical Access Hospital: 2023 National Patient Safety Goals
      • Home Care: 2023 National Patient Safety Goals
      • Hospital: 2023 National Patient Safety Goals
      • Laboratory Services: 2023 National Patient Safety Goals
      • Nursing Care Center: 2023 National Patient Safety Goals
      • Office-Based Surgery: 2023 National Patient Safety Goals
    • Prepublication Standards
      • New Assisted Living Community Accreditation Memory Care Certification Option
      • Health Care Equity Standard Elevated to National Patient Safety Goal
      • New and Revised Emergency Management Standards
      • New Health Care Equity Certification Program
      • Updates to the Advanced Disease-Specific Care Certification for Inpatient Diabetes Care
      • Updates to the Assisted Living Community Accreditation Requirements
      • Updates to the Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification Program
      • The Joint Commission Retires Select Accreditation Requirements
      • Revisions Related to Licensed Practitioner Evaluation Time Frames
      • Revisions to Eliminate the Use of Licensed Independent Practitioner Terminology
    • R3 Report
    • Standards FAQs
    • Universal Protocol
    • Patient Safety Systems PS Chapter
    Nurse and doctor talking to happy hospital patient after surgery

    National Patient Safety Goals

    Find out about the current National Patient Safety Goals® (NPSGs) for specific programs.

    doctor chatting to sales rep in hospital corridor

    FAQs about the Standards

    We help you measure, assess and improve your performance.

  • Measurement
    Learn about the "gold standard" in quality. We develop and implement measures for accountability and quality improvement.
    • Measures
      • Assisted Living Community Measures
      • Cardiac Care
      • Emergency Department
      • Health Care Staffing Services
      • Hospital Outpatient Department
      • Hospital-Based Inpatient Psychiatric
      • Immunization
      • Palliative Care
      • Perinatal Care
      • Spine Surgery
      • Stroke
      • Substance Use
      • Tobacco Treatment
      • Total Hip and Knee Replacement
      • Venous Thromboembolism
    • Specifications Manuals
      • Electronic Clinical Quality Measures
      • Chart Abstracted Measures
    • Reporting
      • Accreditation - Hospital
      • Accreditation - ALC
      • Certification
    • Pioneers in Quality
      • Facts
      • Proven Practices
      • Expert to Expert Series
      • Recognition
    • Resources
    • ORYX FAQs
    • Quality Measurement Webinars & Videos
      • Video Shorts
    Business information and info-graphics concept.

    Measures

    Learn about the development and implementation of standardized performance measures. View them by specific areas by clicking here.

    Happy Medical Team Looking at Laptop in Doctor's Office.

    Pioneers in Quality

    Gain an understanding of the development of electronic clinical quality measures to improve quality of care.

  • Resources
    Obtain useful information in regards to patient safety, suicide prevention, infection control and many more.
    • Health Care Equity
    • Publicity Kits
    • Patient Safety Topics
      • Zero Harm
      • Emergency Management
      • Health Care Workforce Safety and Well-Being
      • Infection Prevention and Control
      • Report a Patient Safety Concern or Complaint
      • Suicide Prevention
      • Workplace Violence Prevention
    • News & Multimedia
      • The Joint Commission Stands for Racial Justice and Equity
      • Blogs
      • Joint Commission Saves Lives
      • Events
      • Fact Sheets
      • Newsletters
      • News Releases
      • Podcasts
      • Speakers Bureau
      • Video Resources
      • Webinars
      • The Joint Commission and Social Media
    • Patient Safety
      • 2022 Patient Safety Awareness Week
    • Sentinel Event
    • The Physical Environment
      • Utility Systems - EC.02.05.01
      • Means of Egress - LS.02.01.20
      • Built Environment - EC.02.06.01
      • Fire Protection - EC.02.03.05
      • General Requirements - LS.02.01.10
      • Protection - LS.02.01.30
      • Automated Suppression - LS.02.01.35
      • Life Safety Code
    • For Nurses
    • For Physicians
      • Physician Leader Monthly January 2023
      • Physician Leader Monthly December 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly November 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly October 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly September 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly August 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly July 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly June 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly May 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly April 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly March 2022
      • Physician Leader Monthly February 2022
    • For Consumers
      • Speak Up Campaigns
      • COVID-19 Vaccines
      • TakeCHARGE
      • The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
      • The Smart Parents Guide
      • You The Smart Patient
    • Research
      • Operations Support Research
      • Evaluation Research
      • Health Services Research
      • DataMart
    • Awards
      • John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award
      • Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity
    • Continuing Education Credit Information
      • Continuing Education Credit Information FAQs
    Talking to audience. One member of the board speaking in microphone among other participants of meeting.

    News & Multimedia

    Stay up to date with all the latest Joint Commission news, blog posts, webinars, and communications.

    Group of young creative people collaborating in modern office.

    Patient Safety Topics

    We can make a difference on your journey to provide consistently excellent care for each and every patient.

  1. Home >
  2. Standards >
  3. Standards FAQs >
Regulated Waste - OSHA Definition
Print

What is the definition of "regulated waste?"

Back to FAQs
Any examples are for illustrative purposes only.  
 
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Per OSHA, The Bloodborne Pathogens Standard uses the term, "regulated waste," to refer to the following categories of waste:  
  • liquid or semi-liquid blood or other potentially infectious materials 
  • contaminated items that would release blood or other potentially infectious materials in a liquid or semi-liquid state if compressed 
  • items that are caked with dried blood or other potentially infectious materials and are capable of releasing these materials during handling 
  • contaminated sharps 
  • and pathological and microbiological wastes containing blood or other potentially infectious materials.  
Organizations should also check with their state regulatory agencies as some states have additional items which is considered regulated waste or regulated medical waste.   
 
Reference EC.02.02.01 
Manual: Critical Access Hospital
Chapter: Environment of Care EC
First published date: April 11, 2016 This Standards FAQ was first published on this date.
This page was last updated on October 25, 2021
Back to FAQs

If no, please comment on how we could improve this response.

If you have additional standards-related questions regarding this topic, please use the Standards Online Submission Form
A group of nurses in a hospital hallway

Go Above and Beyond with Certification

Certifications from The Joint Commission represent the most stringent, comprehensive and evidence-based proof of the success of your program available.
Certification
A team of surgeons in the operating room

Additional Resources

Train your staff with a tool to quickly and efficiently assess standards compliance with our Hospital Compliance Assessment Workbook.

Additional hospital resources
A group of professionals sitting together in a meeting

Hospital Webinars

Keep learning with our Hospital Breakfast Briefings Webinar Series. Get a deep dive into our standards, chapter-by-chapter, individually or as a team.

Hospital Breakfast Briefings
Chat Bot Icon
Joint Commission Virtual Assistant
This site uses cookies and other tracking technologies to assist with navigation, providing feedback, analyzing your use of our products and services, assisting with our promotional and marketing efforts, and provide content from third parties. Get more information about cookies and how you can refuse them by clicking on the learn more button below. By not making a selection you will be agreeing to the use of our cookies.

  • Joint Commission International
  • Joint Commission Resources
  • Visit us on Facebook facebook
  • Visit us on Twitter twitter
  • Visit us on LinkedIn linkedin
  • News Room
  • Careers
  • E-Alerts
  • Contact Us

  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy & Cookies Statement
©2023 The Joint Commission, All Rights Reserved

The Joint Commission is a registered trademark of the Joint Commission enterprise.