unannounced inspections and surveys to ensure compliance with regulations. If
exposure should occur, the mission of the preventive medicine personnel is to find the
cause and to recommend to DEH the method to eliminate or reduce its effects.
(8) Represent the medical department activities (MEDDAC) and medical
centers (MEDCEN) as an installation tenant and the hazardous waste generator. For
example: assist the installation activities in preparing applications for landfill permits,
review permits for general acceptability, and provide guidance in site selection.
f. Installation Medical Authority (IMA). The IMA and staff play an important
role in waste disposal. It is the function of the IMA (also known as the Director of Health
Services (DHS)) to know the health hazards inherent in the handling and disposal of all
types of waste and to advise the commander on the health and safety aspects of waste
disposal. It is also the role of the DHS to monitor all phases of waste handling
techniques and procedures to ensure that no conditions exist which could constitute
health hazards or nuisances to personnel and employees of the installation or to the
neighboring civilian community. Where necessary and appropriate, the DHS makes
recommendations to the commander concerning the sanitary aspects of waste disposal
operations.
g. The Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) Officer
(DRMO). The DRMO, formerly and in some places still called the Property Disposal
Officer, is responsible for administering the recycling program for recyclable refuse and
hazardous wastes. This responsibility includes determining the market value of waste
materials, deciding which materials will be segregated for separate collection, and
arranging for the issuance of recycling regulations. The DRMO is responsible for the
sale, donation, reutilization, and disposal of Department of Defense (DOD) waste as
prescribed in DOD 4160.21 and as outlined in AR 200-1. (Under Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) rules, a mixture listed as hazardous and solid waste must be
considered a hazardous waste unless the mixture qualifies for an exemption. For the
asbestos management program, DRMS will dispose of noncontract-generated asbestos
as per paragraph 10-2 of AR 200-1 and will contract for pickup and hazardous waste
disposal services IAW DOD 4160.21-M. It must be noted that the DRMO
DOES NOT accept solid wastes such as:
rnaterials, which, by United States law, must be destroyed. The Director of Logistics
Agency will assist the DRMO in disposing of by-products and other materials.
medical items in their present forms because of military regulations.
(3) Municipal-type garbage, trash, and refuse resulting from residential,
institutional, commercial, agriculture, and community activities which can be disposed of
in a State or locally permitted sanitary landfill.
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