presented by Facilities Management and the office of Hazardous Waste Generator Training Environmental Health & Safety
RCRA..."It's The Law!"
Hazardous Waste is: Spent material that is: READY TO BE THROWN AWAY and is DANGEROUS TO HUMAN HEALTH or to THE ENVIRONMENT
What is Hazardous Waste? Ignitable (I) Toxic (T) Corrosive (C) Reactive (R) Toxicity Characteristic (E) Acute Hazardous Waste (H)
Flammable/Ignitable Liquid or mixture having a flashpoint of 140º F or lower. Most non-halogenated solvents (e.g., Methanol, Ethanol, Acetone, Xylene) Petroleum-based products (e.g., Gasoline) Flammable solids (e.g.,sodium or Potassium metals, solid Naphthalene, Nitrocellulose).
Toxic Poison, carcinogen, mutagen, reproductive hazard or is capable of causing harm to health, safety, or the environment. A substance is considered Toxic if it contains any of the substances listed in Table 1 of APC&EC 261.24 at concentrations equal to or greater than those listed. Over 800 substances are specifically regulated by the EPA.
Corrosive Liquids with ph less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5 Liquids with ph above 2 and below 12.5 are not considered corrosive; may be disposed of as normal waste, provided they do not exhibit any other hazardous characteristics
Reactive Unstable Explosive Shock sensitive Water or air reactive Strong oxidizer Organic peroxides Cyanide and sulfide bearing materials are also reactive and may produce toxic, deadly gases when mixed with acids.
Labeling All hazardous waste containers must be labeled "HAZARDOUS WASTE. Descriptions such as "WASTE" or CHEMICAL WASTE" are not acceptable.
Labeling (Continued) USE CHEMICAL NAMES (NO SYMBOLS, TRADE NAMES, OR ABBREVIATIONS) BE SPECIFIC; LIST EACH SUBSTANCE
Containers SIMILAR TO ORIGINAL, IF POSSIBLE 5-GALLON JUGS AND 4-LITER BOTTLES ARE OK IF ADDED MATERIAL IS COMPATIBLE WITH ANY RESIDUE LEAVE ADEQUATE HEAD SPACE
Lids For Containers MUST HAVE SECURE, TIGHT LID; PARAFILM IS NOT ACCEPTABLE MUST BE SECURELY IN PLACE AT ALL TIMES, EXCEPT WHEN WASTE IS BEING ADDED NEVER LEAVE A FUNNEL IN AN UNATTENDED CONTAINER
Three Most Common Violations 1. FUNNELS IN CONTAINERS 2. IMPROPER LABELING 3. CONTAINERS WITH NO LIDS THESE VIOLATIONS HAVE LED TO COSTLY FINES AT SEVERAL INSTITUTIONS!!!
Storage AWAY FROM DRAINS OR SINKS SECURE LOCATION; NEVER A HALLWAY KEEP AREA CLEAN INSPECT FOR SPILLS DAILY CLEAN UP SPILLS PROMPTLY
Storage (Continued) NEVER ACCUMULATE MORE THAN 55 GALLONS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE NEVER ACCUMULATE MORE THAN 1 QUART OF ACUTELY HAZARDOUS WASTE (See Appendix III of Lab Audit Definitions for a list of acutely hazardous materials.) STORE AT OR NEAR THE POINT OF GENERATION AND IN FUME HOODS OR SAFETY CABINETS, IF POSSIBLE AVOID STORING INCOMPATIBLE MATERIALS TOGETHER
Incompatibles DO NOT MIX HALOGENTATED WITH NON-HALOGENATED WASTES SEPARATE PCBs, DIOXIN, MERCURY AND HEAVY METALS FROM ONE ANOTHER. DO NOT MIX ACIDS WITH BASES; OXIDIZERS WITH FLAMMABLES.
Waste Disposal Go to the EH&S web page http://ehs.uark.edu/. Log in to the site, using your university id and password. From the Logged-in Menu, click Request Hazardous Waste Pickup, and follow the on-line instructions to fill in and submit the request.
Waste Disposal (Continued) ALL ITEMS FOR DISPOSAL MUST BE LISTED. IN THE REQUEST. ITEMS NOT LISTED WILL NOT BE PICKED UP.
Waste Disposal (Continued) LABELING: ALL ITEMS MUST BE LABELED AS HAZARDOUS WASTE CONTENTS MUST BE LISTED UNLABELED ITEMS WILL NOT BE PICKED UP!!
Waste Disposal (Continued) IF THE WASTE IS NOT ACCEPTABLE FOR PICKUP AND TRANSPORTATION, THE GENERATOR WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CORRECTING THE PROBLEM!
Waste Disposal (Continued) WASTE MAY NOT BE HELD ON SITE FOR LONGER THAN THREE DAYS. EH&S HAS SCHEDULED PICKUPS FOR TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
Waste Disposal (Continued) DO NOT MIX CHEMICAL WASTE WITH BIOLOGICAL WASTE. WASTE CONTAINING BOTH CHEMICAL AND RADIOLOGICAL WASTE IS MIXED WASTE. Mixed waste is handled as radiological waste by the Radiation Safety Officer.
Waste Minimization IS REQUIRED BY LAW LOWERS COSTS PROTECTS ENVIRONMENT
Waste Minimization (Continued) SUBSTITUTE NON-HAZARDOUS MATERIALS RECYCLE / REDISTRIBUTE PROPERLY FILL CONTAINERS ORDER SMALLEST AMOUNT MICROEXPERIMENTS REQUIRED BY LAW
Golden Rules 1. Never throw hazardous waste in garbage or pour waste down drain. 2. All hazardous waste must be labeled as such immediately upon generation. 3. Keep containers tightly sealed and never leave a funnel in an unattended container. 4. Keep chemical, radioactive and biohazardous waste separate. 5. Do not mix incompatible chemicals or wastes together. 6. Know what to do in case of a chemical spill. 7. Recycle or reduce the volume and toxicity of your wastes whenever possible.
Environmental Health & Safety CALL FOR ASSISTANCE: 575-5448 WEBSITE: http://ehs.uark.edu/
Emergency Procedures For eye contact with chemicals, flush at least 15 minutes. For skin contact with chemicals, wash thoroughly with soap and water. Seek medical attention if necessary. Contact EH&S Chemical Hygiene Officer during business hours at 575-5448 (after hours, call UAPD at 575-2222) if spill is: Greater than 1 gallon Very Toxic Poses a Fire Hazard If You Need Assistance Laboratory spill kits should include: Absorbent materials, PPE, Cleanup materials (dust pan, scoop, plastic bags, etc.)
Remember IT S THE LAW!!