Besides RCRA, there are other regulations which govern the way both hazardous materials and hazardous wastes are handled at ISU.

7.1  Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)     
     Several hazardous wastes, which historically have been generated on the ISU campus, are regulated under TSCA.  These include asbestos materials and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) oils.
     Asbestos is typically found in old buildings as either insulation tape or wall/ceiling materials.  If it is removed, the material is then considered a hazardous waste and must be disposed of accordingly.  Removal must be done by qualified personnel.  The central location for this waste is maintained in the Heat Plant, ISU Building #20.  Please contact M&O at x2209 for further information.  M&O manages asbestos rather than TSO.
     Most fluorescent light ballasts manufactured before 1978 contain a small capacitor which used PCB oils as a dielectric.  When these long-life ballasts are removed, the ballasts must be disposed of as hazardous waste.  In addition, electrical transformers often used PCB oils as a dielectric fluid.  Use of these oils is banned under TSCA, but electrical equipment which still contains these oils is encountered infrequently.  If you suspect that a piece of electrical equipment may have PCB oil in it, or oil is leaking from a piece of electrical equipment, please call TSO at x2310 for further assistance.  Another potential source of PCBs is immersion oils used in microscopy because of their high refractive index.
     The TSO can assist in determining whether a specific oil contains PCBs, and if it does not.  They can also help with proper containment and waste disposal of the PCB contaminated oil.

7.2  Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)
     ISU is also regulated under SARA, even though ISU does not dispose of chemical hazardous waste on the campus itself.  SARA contains provisions for reporting the presence of chemicals which exceed certain quantities, and ISU may exceed these quantities for a few chemicals.  Thus, it is important that quantity and location of these chemicals be known and made available to the TSO on a yearly basis by August 15. 
      
7.3  City of Pocatello (NPDES) Permit
     ISU is regulated as to what may be discharged into the drains and sewer connections which lead to the City of Pocatello's Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW).  This regulation is in the form of pre-treatment standards which are set by the City so as not to exceed the discharge concentration limits of hazardous substances, referred to as Priority Pollutants, regulated by their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.  A Priority Pollutant list and their concentration limits are provided in Appendix K.  Do not put any material into a drain or sewer unless you are sure it is not controlled by this or other regulations.
 
7.4  Clean Air Act (CAA)
     ISU is regulated under the CAA, which is administered in the State of Idaho by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ).  Currently, we do not create a sufficient volume per unit time of toxic airborne emissions to be of regulatory concern.  However, this could change as the University grows or specified regulatory substances and levels change.  

7.5  Emergency Planning Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
     ISU is required to report the presence of hazardous materials that exceed certain amounts, called Threshold Planning Quantities (TPQs).  ISU may exceed of these quantities for substances present on the campus.  Thus, it is important to know the quantities of hazardous material and their locations for reporting purposes. 

7.6  Idaho General Safety and Health Standards
     The Idaho General Safety and Health Standards contains information related to labeling and storage of hazardous materials, and a reference to the Code's application to school laboratories.  Currently this code incorporates the 1982 Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) standards found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). 

7.7  Reportable Quantities (RQ)       
     Certain hazardous materials have defined quantities which when released into the environment, are deemed to have sufficient hazard potential as to be reportable to several government agencies.  These hazardous materials and their release reportable quantities are found in 40 CFR 302.4.  Release to the environment includes a spill that might ultimately find its way into groundwater, such as through the soil or into a sewer or storm drain.  It does not include releases contained within a structure.  Please report the release to the environment of ANY quantity of hazardous material to the TSO.  TSO will determine reporting requirements.
 

Technical Safety Office Idaho State University Campus Box 8106 785 S. 8th St. PS Rm 101  Pocatello, ID 83209 Phone: (208) 282-2310 or 282-2311 Fax: (208) 282-4649