Chemical Hygiene Plan - Queensborough Community College ...

6. Selection of Hazardous Waste Contractors:
There are many commercial firms that provide contract services for hazardous waste
pickup. Although these firms will cart away the unwanted materials from a facility, it
should be kept in mind that the generator of the waste is ultimately responsible for the
proper and legal disposal of the waste. To ensure that the waste will be disposed of
properly, the contractor selected should have a U.S. EPA identification Number. There
are also a number of commercial facilities that treat large shipments of uniform or
individual waste for landfill disposal. Therefore, if your facility generates large quantities
of single entity wastes, it may be feasible to utilize this disposal method. Whatever
system is ultimately chosen, the single most important factor to remember is to track the
waste from "cradle to grave."
7. Hazardous Waste Pickup:
Before hazardous waste from a facility can be picked up, it must be properly packaged,
labeled, and segregated according to the system that conforms to the contractor's
requirements. Other factors to be taken into consideration are traffic control and loading
dock preparation for the pickup, personnel coordination and protection if they assist in
the pickup, and the cleanup of remaining excess debris.
8. Record Keeping:
The EHSO is responsible for ensuring that a conscientious effort is made to monitor and
inventory wastes that are generated by the facility. He will also be responsible for
keeping waste manifest forms for the required 3year period after disposal. If the
contractor does not return a copy of the manifest form within 45 days of the shipping
date, this person must file an Exception Report with the EPA regional administrator. It is
optional to use an internal waste manifest program to track waste from a laboratory to a
packaging area for shipment. In this case, records would be kept to document the
composition of the waste.
9. Waste Minimization Practices
An integral part of a waste management program is the practice the institution uses to
minimize and reduce the amount of waste it generates. This minimization should start at
the laboratory level and particular attention should be paid to protocols developed by
each principal investigator.
Some suggested examples for minimizing laboratory waste are:
· Substitution of hazardous chemicals with less hazardous or nonhazardous chemicals in
laboratory experiments (i.e., toluene for benzene; histoclear for xylene).
· The use of microscale experiment.
· The design of experiments that begin and end with the same chemical
· The design of experiments that begin with the end product of other experiments
· The recycling of solvent wastes.
· The use of an inventory program to determine if excess quantities of chemicals needed
are present before a new shipment is ordered.
By implementing these practices and others, the amount of waste generated can be
reduced at the source and thus minimize the overall waste that is generated by the
institution. The plan will also identify a person who acts as a hazardous waste facility
coordinator in each building where there are laboratories.
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