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1) Why This Pamphlet?
This pamphlet provides basic information on management of hazardous chemical
wastes at ISU. If you believe that you may be generating hazardous
chemical waste, please obtain a copy of the Hazardous Waste Management
Policies and Procedures Manual which is available to all campus personnel
upon request or is accessible on CWIS through the ISU mainframe computer.
2) What are the Goals
of the Program?
The Hazardous Chemical Waste Management Program has three major functions:
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Protection of health and safety
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Waste minimization and disposal, and
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Regulatory compliance
3) What is a Waste?
Any material which is discarded, abandoned, or accumulated prior to recycling
is considered a waste. The ISU Recycling Program handles non hazardous
waste materials such as paper, aluminum cans, non laboratory glass, and
plastics. For more information call x4455. Some major categories
of hazardous or potentially hazardous wastes are listed below.
4) What is a Hazardous Waste?
Not all chemical waste is regulated as hazardous waste. A waste is
considered hazardous waste for regulatory purposes of any of the
following apply:
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Hazardous by EPA Listing. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established lists of chemicals
that must be treated and disposed of as hazardous when they become wastes.
Your department materials handler and the Technical Safety Office (TSO)
maintain an inventory of those materials in your department which are affected
by EPA listing. All acutely hazardous wastes have EPA numbers beginning
with the letter "P." If you are using, or plan to use, a chemical
which has an EPA identification number beginning with "P" or will be generating
that chemical or contaminated products as a waste, contact your laboratory
materials handler or the TSO.
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Hazardous by Mixing a Listed Waste with
Unlisted Waste. Broken or discarded glassware, products, by-products,
solutions, or mixtures contaminated with an EPA listed waste are considered
hazardous waste.
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Hazardous by Characteristic of Ignitability,
Corrosivity, or Reactivity. These characteristics have specific
definitions which are given in the ISU Hazardous Waste Management Policies
and Procedures Manual.
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Wastes with New or Unique Characteristics.
These wastes may be created in research or teaching labs and must be evaluated
to determine if they meet EPA definition of a hazardous waste. Contact
the TSO for assistance in characterization and disposal of such wastes.
The most effective method of dealing with
hazardous waste is to minimize waste generation. You should be sensitive
to the purchase, use, and proper disposal of any chemicals included under
the above headings.
5) What Kinds of Materials
are Potential Hazardous Wastes?
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Abandoned Unknowns. This category
is the most difficult. The problems of abandoned unknowns can be
avoided with standard laboratory protocol: label each container as to content,
concentration, date, prepared or purchased, and your initials.
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Questionable Purity. Chemicals
of questionable purity cannot be used and should be considered waste.
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Expiration Date Surpassed. Please
pay special attention to the expiration dates of peroxidizable chemicals.
Use or disposal of peroxidizable chemicals before their expiration date
is passed is very important.
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Photographic Process Waste. The
spent chemicals, especially fixer, used in developing photographic and
x-ray film contain silver, a RCRA waste. These solutions are collected
and recycled.
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Chemicals from Completed or Discontinued
Research, Experiments, and Analysis. When these materials are
no longer useful or cannot be recycled, they are considered waste and must
be characterized prior to disposal.
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Excess Stock with No Likelihood of Use.
Stock with no likelihood of use is waste. Careful purchasing can
reduce the volume of excess chemicals that have to be managed as hazardous
waste.
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Spent Cleaning and Wash Solvents.
Spent cleaning and wash solvents are almost always hazardous waste because
the solvent or the materials which contaminate the solvent may be hazardous.
Spent solvents from automotive parts and washing machines are recycled.
Other generators of spent solvents should contact the TSO for management
options.
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Waste Paints. Waste paints containing
hazardous metals such as lead or hazardous solvents have to be treated
as hazardous waste. Most waste water based paints are not considered
to be hazardous waste.
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Used Motor Oil and Filters. Regulations
on used motor oil and filters are subject to change. Currently oil
is recycled. Used oil filters may be disposed of as ordinary waste
provided they are drained of free liquid and crushed.
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Mercury. Mercury is commonly
found in instrumentation, thermostats, and thermometers. Bulk quantities
of mercury can usually be recycled but articles contaminated with mercury
have to be disposed of as hazardous waste. Disposal of a broken mercury
thermometer generally costs far more than the purchase price of an electronic
thermometer.
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Electrical Transformers. Older
electrical transformers often contain PCB dielectrics. Disposal of
PCB dielectric fluids from equipment is very expensive. Do not accept
donated electrical equipment until it has been evaluated by TSO personnel.
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Donated or "Free" Chemicals.
The "free" chemicals acquired by various departments on campus have cost
thousands of dollars to dispose of as hazardous waste. Accept no
donated chemicals from any source without first consulting TSO.
6) What Kinds of Waste are Not
"Hazardous?"
Three kinds of wastes do not meet the technical definition of "hazardous
waste," and are not covered by this pamphlet.
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Non hazardous Solid Waste. Examples
include garbage, rubbish, paper or cardboard refuse, and non contaminated
glass. Non hazardous solid waste is handled by Maintenance and Operations.
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Radioactive Waste. An example
is liquid scintillation vials containing radioactive material. Radioactive
waste is handled by the Radiation Safety section of the TSO, x2311.
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Infectious Waste. Examples include
infectious laboratory cultures, pathological tissue specimens, needles,
and items contaminated with human body fluids. Infectious waste is
handled cooperatively by Maintenance and Operations and the TSO.
7) How is Hazardous Waste
Managed at ISU?
Proper management of hazardous chemical waste begins at the site of waste
generation. A brief overview of this process follows.
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Laboratory procedures and other activities
that generate hazardous waste should be reviewed with TSO personnel
for possible waste reduction strategies. At the discretion of the
Chairman, these reviews may be done by individual instructors or at the
departmental or college level by, for example, a materials manager.
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Chemical wastes generated are first accumulated
at the point of generation in a Satellite Accumulation Area (SAA).
Each campus location which generates hazardous waste on a routine basis
should have an established SAA. The SAA should consist of an area
protected from natural degradation, such as wind, rain, and sunlight.
This location should be at the point of waste generation. A sign,
available from the TSO, should be posted to declare the location of the
SAA. One SAA per waste generation stream is optimal. All containers
inside the SAA should be placed in secondary containment such as a small
tub. Each SAA can store up to 55 gallons of hazardous waste or 1
quart of acutely hazardous waste (P-listed). These sites are inspected
weekly by TSO personnel for integrity and safety.
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Hazardous chemical wastes are packed and
labeled in compliance with Local, State, and Federal regulations.
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Hazardous chemical wastes are then transported
to a central storage facility known as a Temporary Accumulation Area
(TAA) by TSO staff.
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At the TAA hazardous chemical wastes are
further packaged for shipment to an approved EPA treatment, storage,
and disposal (TSD) facility.
8) What Steps Should Be Taken
to Ensure Employee Health & Safety?
Chemical waste handling procedures as well as packaging and labeling of
containers for pick up by TSO personnel, should be carried out using precautions
appropriate to the hazard level of the chemicals in the waste material.
Examples of precautions that may be appropriate are:
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Conduct operations in a properly functioning
chemical fume hood.
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Use appropriate personal protective equipment
such as eye, face, skin, and respiratory protection.
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Use secondary containment to control the spread
of any spill that may occur.
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Correctly evaluate, pack, and label hazardous
chemical waste. This will help ensure the safety of other personnel
who handle the hazardous chemical waste.
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Make Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) available
to all personnel working in your department for each chemical, including
waste chemicals, with which they may be required to work. By law,
the manufacturer of a purchased hazardous substance must supply an MSDS
with the purchase. The TSO maintains a computer database of MSDSs.
Many MSDSs can also be found on CWIS.
9) How Can I Recycle & Minimize
Hazardous Waste?
If you have useable amounts of excess chemicals, notify your materials
handler. The beneficial use or exchange of chemicals with other departments
is far preferable to the liabilities and expense of disposal as hazardous
waste.
10) Regulatory Interpretations
& Changes
Local, state, and federal regulations are continuously updated and as such,
are subject to change. Please consult the TSO for possible changes
in these regulations.
11) If You Don't Need It Don't
Buy It!
The few pennies you may save in buying bulk chemicals are quickly eaten
up in increased handling, storage, and disposal costs. TSO staff
are available for consultation on waste minimization.
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