Pollution Prevention Guide for Laboratories

What is a hazardous waste?

The first step in any pollution prevention plan is to understand what is a hazardous waste. Once you know what constitutes a hazardous waste, then you are able to evaluate your processes to determine whether you are a generator of hazardous waste. At this point you can put into practice your strategies for reducing your waste generation.

Waste materials are classified as a hazardous waste if they meet one of the following criteria:

• Ignitable – flash point less than 140F, aqueous solutions of more than 24% alcohol or are oxidizers

• Corrosive – aqueous solutions with a pH < 2 or pH > 12.5 or corrode steel at 6.35 mm/year at 55C

• Toxic – contains specified metals, pesticides or organic solvents at levels greater than set limits

• Listed wastes – wastes from specific and nonspecific sources, discarded commercial products, container residues, spill residues or off specification products – these lists include P-waste which is acutely toxic material and U-waste which is toxic material.

​Where to begin?

1. Think about the potential hazard of every chemical you intend to use.

2. Make sure you are using good housekeeping practices, keeping the laboratory neat and orderly.

3. Keep an updated inventory of chemicals in your laboratory with appropriate labeling and dating.

4. Centralize the purchasing for chemicals in your laboratory through one person.

5. Check your stock first to see if you have the chemical on hand before ordering.

6. Check the Chemical Redistribution Program to see if the chemical is available free of charge.

7. Check with other laboratories to see if the chemical you need is available.

8. When purchasing new chemicals, purchase only the amount you intend to use.

9. Manage your waste properly including establishing any area for waste storage is possible, segregating non-hazardous waste from hazardous waste and label your waste materials properly.

10. Consider waste generation in planning your next experiment.

Improving an Existing Laboratory

1. Cleanup your laboratory checking your chemical stock for outdated, off specification or unneeded items.

2. Dispose of any unwanted or unneeded materials through EHS.

3. Prepare your inventory of materials on hand including the location of each chemical.

4. Review your existing and new laboratory procedures for the following:

   • Can a less hazardous material be substituted for the materials currently being used?

   • Can the quantity of material being used be reduced?

   • What safer alternatives exist to the use of highly toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reactive materials?

5. Centralize the purchasing for chemicals in your laboratory through one person.

6. Check the Chemical Redistribution Program to see if the chemical is available free of charge.

7. Check with other laboratories to see if the chemical you need is available.

8. When purchasing new chemicals, purchase only the amount you intend to use.

9. Are your hazardous wastes segregated from nonhazardous wastes and are they labeled properly in appropriate containers?

Teaching, Instructional, Research and Analytical Laboratory Pollution Prevention Recommendations

1. Eliminateorreducetheuseofreactivechemicals.

2. Eliminateorreducetheuseofoxidizers.

3. Eliminate or reduce the use of halogenated solvents. If halogenated solvents are necessary, investigate the use of redistillation in order to minimize the amount of new solvent purchased.

4. Eliminate or reduce the use of arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium and silver compounds when possible. Use silver recovery systems if applicable.

5. Eliminate or reduce the use of ignitable solvents when possible. Try to substitute non-ignitable, biodegradable solvents when possible such as in scintillation cocktails.

6. Eliminateorreducetheuseofacutelytoxicmaterialswhenpossible(Plistedwastes).

Reduction

1. Purchase equipment that produces less waste than the current procedure used.
2. Reduce the scale of experiments that produce hazardous waste. Use fewer chemicals when possible.
3. Consider the use of microscale experiments.
4. Consider demonstrationsor videopresentations as a substitute for some experiments in instructional or teaching laboratories.
5. Reuse raw materials where possible. Reuse spent solvent for initial cleaning. Perform work in batches.

Recycling and Redistribution

1. Participate in the Chemical Redistribution Program.
2. Examine your waste materials and excess chemicals for possible uses in other parts of your laboratory.
3. Evaluate the possibility of redistillation of waste solvents in your laboratory.
4. Evaluate your waste materials for reclamation or recycling alternatives.